The Darkness and the Light
by Outtie
Summary: What I'd like to see happen in season five. Warning some retcon at the beginning and Rumbelle throughout. Probable character death(s).
1. Chapter 0 - Justice

Author's Note - I fully admit that I hated season four. Specifically the Rumple and Belle stuff, so more to make myself happy than anything else, I wrote a quick pre-amble re-writing the season four midseason finale & a few other events from 4b to make it more palatable to me personally. If you liked 'Heroes and Villians' as it was and thought it made Belle into a stronger character instead of a weaker one, please feel free to skip to chapter one. My retcon doesn't really affect the rest of the story since I pretty much just pick up where season four ultimately ended (whether I liked that ending or not). I just like to forget most of what happened in season four regarding the Rumbelle storyline.

 **Chapter 0 - Justice**

Rumpelstiltskin's hand hovered over the defeated heart of his enemy as he paused to enjoy his triumph. In a few moments the spell would be complete and he would at last be freed from that cursed dagger! No longer need he fear being forced to hurt the people he loved at the whim of whichever evil soul came into to possession of the dagger. He and Belle would be free to go wherever _she_ desires... finally their happy ending was upon them! And all it would cost him was the death of the filthy pirate who had seduced his first faithless wife and shot his darling Belle in the back. " _And they call me a coward_... ". Rumple smiled and began to squeeze the heart...

"Gold stop!" Rumple's eyes lit with rage as he felt his hand freeze around the heart, mere seconds away from crushing it to dust. _Guess he shouldn't have paused to gloat._ He turned to face his adversary as he felt his fingers loosen around his enemy's heart which he was now forced to cradle gently in his hand.

"Miss Swan?" his surprise was impossible to hide, not at seeing Emma Swan interfering in his plans, but at seeing what she held in her hand. "Where did you get that?" he growled pointing to the dagger with his free hand.

"From Belle." Emma enjoyed the shocked look that flashed across Gold's expressive face, the golden mask dropped for the moment. "Anna told us about the hat. I went to Belle for help and she just gave it to me." she admitted. "Gullible isn't she? She actually thought I was going to save you from yourself."

Gold glowered, "Belle is a good person; she's always trusting people who are unworthy of it. But you...", with some visible effort he turned to face dagger, "You Miss Swan don't trust anyone."

"That's right." she said, "I don't." she raised the dagger and began to advance on a frozen Gold.

"Emma! NO!" Emma turns in annoyance to see her parents running into the building. _Late as usual._ "Don't do it Emma! He's not worth it!"

" _I'm standing right here_." Gold muttered, mentally reminding himself not to lift a finger to save the town next time these idiots opened a magical can of worms.

Emma ignored her parents raised the dagger again. "Take us to the town line, Gold." she commanded through the dagger.

Gold obeyed carrying himself and Emma Swan to the town line, bringing her charming parents and Belle along in the vain hope they might try to stop Emma.

No dice. She raised the dagger again, "Rumplestiltskin, I command thee to leave Storybrook." _Not quite as much fun as stabbing the bastard, but she'd take what she could get._

"No! Please No!" Gold's lower lip wobbled adorably as he slowly began backing towards the town line, fighting every step of the way.

Emma's expression was dark and dour (as usual), "Do you think I would let YOU ruin _my_ happy ending?" with one last shove of magic, Emma pushes the town pawn broker over the town line where he immediately where he became lame once more. She turned to face the sobbing Belle (that's right sobbing. Her true love just got banished she should be upset!), "Remember Rumple," she spoke into the dagger since Rumple could no longer hear her, "If you ever attempt to come back into town, I'm going to crush your true love's heart the way you tried to crush mine. Understand?" he understood.

"Let me go with him!" Belle cried, not wanting to be separated from her true love.

"Not a chance."

"Emma..." her parents try to reason with her. But to no avail.

"I'm afraid." Rumple's voice quavered as Emma forced him over the line.

00000 Season Five 00000

(Warning preamble is also retcon)

Previously on Once Upon a Time... Emma banished Gold from town*, threatening Belle's life if he returned. Then she had Regina steal Belle's heart, a pesky little detail she didn't share with her parents who continued to use Belle as a nearly constant babysitter, completely oblivious to the fact that heartless Belle was letting baby Baelfire crawl around near the top of the stairs without supervision and drink milk that had not been tested for temperature, all while leaving the toilet cleaner and hot coffee lay out where anyone would reach it. When Gold tricks a couple of displaced fairytale characters into sneaking him back into town, he immediately figures out about Belle's heart is being held as leverage and tells The Charmings, who confront Emma while Gold scampers off to rescue Belle's heart and his dagger from Regina, who is too distraught after Gold tells her that her evil sister Zelena is boinking Robin Hood, to stop him. Meanwhile...

Snow to Emma: "It's wrong to take away another's person's free will, Emma." Charming nods.

Emma to Snow: "Oh yeah?! Well what about what YOU did?" she asked, reminding her parents about all the stupid crap they did back in the Enchanted Forest, most recently applicable the kidnapping and darkness filling of Maleficent's daughter Lily, a fact she learned from Regina, who learned it from Snow, who knew because she did it.

Subsequently Emma and Regina go into the real world and come back with Robin Hood, a pregnant Zelena and Lily in tow. Gold, who is dying in Belle's arms, uses his last ounce of strength to free The Sorcerer's Apprentice from the hat. The Apprentice realizes that a dead Rumplestiltskin is bad for everyone and attempts to pull the darkness out of Rumple and into the hat. But the hat can't contain the darkness.

Cut to Emma stabbing the darkness with her dagger and disappearing.


	2. Chapter One - Aftermath

**Chapter One - Aftermath**

Zelena opened her eyes and smiled at the chipped and peeling ceiling of her cell. It had only been a matter of time... she got up and stood in front of the door as a key was hurt scraping in the lock. The door sings open to reveal Lily standing on the other side

"I trust you had no trouble getting in?" she asked.

"None at all." Lily confirmed, "It seems the nurses around here get a little disloyal to your dear sister once a dragon appears."

"Well you can hardly blame them." said Zelena, "I doubt Regina offers much in the way of incentives."

"Her accommodations certainly leave a lot to be desired."

Zelena rolls her eyes when she sees former Author Isaac Heller standing behind Lily, "What are YOU doing here?"

"The same thing you." he replied, "Plotting my revenge on the heroes."

"What do you need us for then?" Zelena asked, "Can't you just write your way out of this mess... 'Author'."

"I'm not the author anymore. The job has moved on to a more 'worthy' candidate."

"Then I don't see how..."

"How a human, a dragon and a wicked witch can win?" Isaac asked.

"She isn't a witch at the moment." Lily informed him, "Regina put a magic cuff on her wrist that keeps her from using any magic."

Zelena grimaced, "And only Regina can remove it."

"Maybe." Isaac said, "But I'm willing to bet that Rumplestilkskin could do it."

"Rumplestiltskin?" Zelena scoffed, "He's currently at death door; if he's not dead already... or hadn't you heard?"

"Oh he's still alive." Isaac said.

"How do you know?" Zelena asked.

"I know, because if Rumplestiltskin was dead than this town would be a smoking ruin by now. You may not know this but once Rumple dies The Dark One will be released..."

"Is that bad?" Lily asked.

"If you don't mind watching the whole world burn, it's not that bad I suppose..."

"So that's why you were helping him." Zelena realized. "I figured he offered you something precious or something that was very very naughty..."

"What did you think I helped Gold out of the goodness of my heart?" he sneered, "I did it to save my own ass. Which I might add is still on the line unless we can get to Gold pronto."

"Look guys," Lily interrupted, "the last time I saw the 'heroes' they were flocking towards Gold's pawnshop. Something about him dying..."

"Then we may not have much time..." Isaac said, "We need to get to Gold before he dies and unleashes the Dark One all over town."

Zelena raised her arm and tapped the magic canceling cuff.

"Yeah yeah..." he paused as a wicked thought occurred to him, "You know of course that the only way to save our collective asses is to make sure that Dark Curse doesn't get into the hands of those," he sneered, "Heroes."

"How the hell can we do that?" Lily asked.

The former author smiled at Zelena, who smiled back, "Tell me darling," she said after a brief pause, "Do you happen to know where old Rumple kept that stunning little knife of his?"

00000

In Gold's pawnshop Belle sits a tearful vigil over her unconscious husband, annoyed that no one had bothered to carry him to a couch or a bed and simply left him lying on the floor, when she heard a low moan coming from The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Belle rushed to his side, surprised to find him still breathing when everyone had seemed so sure he was gone.

"The darkness..." he moaned while feebly trying to rise from Rumple's couch.

Quickly Belle poured a glass of water from the tap in the back of the shop and put the cool glass to The Apprentice's blue lips.

The Apprentice took a few pathetic swallows and lay back down. The effort clearly draining whatever strength he had left. "The darkness..." he began again.

"It's gone." Belle told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Gone? How?"

"After it kil... 'er left you, it tried to take Regina, but Emma voluntarily took the curse on in her place." The look of absolute horror on his face caused Belle to add, "She probably thought Regina with the dark curse would be too powerful to stop. All that dark magic piling one upon the other..." she babbled.

The Apprentice groaned, "No no, this is the worst possible thing that could've happened!"

"Well I know it's not exactly nice, but at least..."

"No! You don't understand. Regina's soul has already tasted darkness, there are few who have tasted more, but _she_ at least knows how to fight it. Emma Swan has no true darkness in her. Her parents made me remove it before she was even born. She has no immunity to evil at all!" His strength spent, The Apprentice collapsed back on to the cushions.

Belle placed her ear to his chest to check that he was still breathing. He was, but quickly, and shallowly. She returned to her husband's side. "Oh, Rumple!" she said, running her hand across his whiskered cheek. Still soft and prickly under the protection spell, "I don't know what to do. How can I help Emma fight the darkness, when I couldn't even help you..."

Suddenly the bell over Gold's door chimes harshly as the door is opened and slammed shut fast. Lily, Isaac and Zelena enter Gold's shop.

"Damn it." Lily said looking at Gold laid out on the floor. "We're too late."

"Honey, I told you, if we were too late we'd know it." the former author reminded her, "Shove over toots." he said, rudely pushing Belle out of the way. He knelt beside Rumple and tried to take his pulse. "He's still alive." he said "But judging by the look of him just barely."

Zelena leaned over him old teacher and sniffed, "Ugh, he's human again, bother." she said crossing pettishly back towards the back of the shop slamming through cupboards looking for any stray magic she could find laying about the place.

"You can smell magic?" Lily asks, the admiration showing in her voice.

"I'm a pregnant witch dear. I can do anything."

"Except magic of course." Isaac quipped.

"Just you wait until I get my cuff off sunshine."

"Which is going to be a bit of a problem," Isaac reminded them, "Since 'The Dark One' here isn't dark anymore." He turned to Belle, "Hey you, Gold trusted you, right? Do you happen to know how to remove the magic cuff Regina put on Zelena?"

"Why on Earth do you think I would help you?!" Belle shouted from behind the pawn shop's counter where she'd spent the last two minutes frantically texting for help.

Isaac shrugged and looked at his companions, "I got this." he said, quickly scanning the pawn shop for deadly objects, he settled on a nice sharp sword, which ironically Belle herself had polished only last week. Weapon in hand, he crossed the shop and placed the tip of the sword against the chest of the cowering Belle.

Belle trembled with fear, but managed enough anger to sneer at him and at his fiends, "Peter Pan made that cuff. Even Rumple couldn't get out of it. So as far as I can see the only way _you're_ going to get rid of that cuff is by cutting off the arm it's attached too."

Isaac paused momentarily to think about it, and then he said, "Ok." and he spun around and and turned his sword on his ally, slicing off Zelena's arm off just below the elbow. Zelena screamed in agony as her arm and the magic canceling cuff hit the pawn shop floor with a dull thud.

"Was that really necessary?!" she hissed through gritted teeth as her restored magic made quick work of re-growing her arm.

"Stop whining. You're none the worse for wear." he said, turning back to face Belle, "Now what do you say you try out your magic on Rumple's dame here. I bet she'd make an adorably squash-able mouse."

"With pleasure." said Zelena raising her restored arm about to strike, when she had a much better idea. Smiling wickedly at Belle the witch knelt down beside the prone form of Rumplestiltskin, "What say we wake our dear Rumple up and see what HE thinks I should do with you..."

"No!" Belle screamed, trying to free herself from Isaac and Lily and get to Rumple, "He's under a protection spell. Breaking it could kill him!"

"Oh, dear, wouldn't _that_ be a shame." said Zelena as she put out her hands and began wrapping Rumple in a green mist. She struggled to break through the Apprentice's protective barrier spell, her face tensed into frown before suddenly brightening in triumph as the magic both green and white disappeared in a puff of grey smoke.

Rumple groaned weakly, his eyelids fluttering briefly until slowly he opened his eyes...


	3. Chapter Two - Darkness

**Chapter Two - Darkness**

Rain lightly pelts the streets of Storybrooke Maine as Regina reaches down to pick up the dagger laying in the middle of the street, right where Emma dropped it after accepting the dark curse...

" _Emma_." Regina reads from the dagger in a pained whisper as Killian, Snow and Charming slowly join her and all three stare in abject horror at the name now etched in the dagger - _Emma Swan_.

"Oh God oh God oh God oh..." Snow babbled in voice full of anguished panic as Charming puts a strong arm around her and tries to comfort her. Soothing his wife's pain momentarily taking his mind off his own pain.

Killian looked angry. He blamed Rumplestiltskin for this, as for every other bad thing that had ever happened to him, from his brother's death at the hands of Rumple's father, to Milah's death at Rumple's own hand (at the cost of Killian's). He wasn't sure how Rumple could be responsible for the hangover he had from last night, but he blamed him just the same. He reached for the Dark Dagger, but Regina beat him too it. Snatching it from under his hook without a glance at the former pirate or a discussion as to who should hold the dagger.

As far as Regina Mills was concerned the matter needed no discussion. She was not only the mayor, but also the most powerful magic user left standing and Emma had damned herself to save her, Regina, The Evil Queen, from the darkness she had willingly courted for most of her adult life. This was her fight, her quest, and nobody was going to lead the operation but her. She could tell the pirate wasn't happy, but she didn't care. She was never one to let someone else's happiness interfere with her own and at this moment she couldn't allow Emma to go down the dark path without a fight. She owed her that much.

Hook knew better than to fight Regina for the dagger. A hook vs. magic was always a losing battle as he well knew from his centuries long pursuit of Rumplestiltskin. "Call her." Hook said to Regina, his voice steadier than his heart. "She's tied to the dagger now she has to come if you call her."

"I know that." Regina hissed irritably. "I just hate this entire situation that YOU put us in, pirate, by not telling us sooner that this Apprentice person was in the hat!"

"How was I supposed to know who he was?" Hook asked, "The Dark One forced me to do his bidding and I had no..."

"I know, I know." Regina hushed him, "Boo hoo, boo hoo, The Dark One stole my heart and made me trap all the nuns in his magic hat. Give me a moment and I might summon up a little pity..."

"Regina." Robin interrupted, "There's no need to vent your anger on him. The Darkness is our only true foe now and we shall need each other's support and loyalty to fight against it." he looked at Hook, "We're none of us disposable."

Hook shrugged, "Glad to hear it mate. Now..." he turned back to Regina and repeated his earlier plea, "Call her."

Nodding her assent, Regina raised the dagger, "Emma Swan!" she cried into the twisting wind. Nothing happened. She looked at Robin, who motioned for her to try again. She raised the dagger, "Emma Swan I command thee to come to me!" Immediately the street light's began to flicker and then pop, dosing the already poorer lit street into near total darkness as Emma swirled into existence amongst a cloud of dank blackness. The moon cast a faint glow over the scene, reflecting off Emma's skin giving it a momentary metallic sparkle. But her family hoped it was only a trick of the moonlight.

"Emma..." Regina said her name breathlessly, suddenly afraid of anger that had always lurked somewhere behind her friend's eyes. _Her friend?_ Regina still had trouble believing that one, but in her heart she knew it was true. Good think she'd kept it in tonight. It would be awfully hard to have a heart to heart chat with the new dark one if she'd left hers at home. "You didn't have to do that." she said, "It chose me. You should've let it have me."

"And how could I do that?" Emma asked, her voice dripping with scorn, "When my parents stole my freewill from me before I was even born." Emma turned on her parents a glare of such malevolent that it practically froze the tears on their cheeks.

"I'm not going to try and justify their actions." Regina said, "They did what they thought best at the time."

"They were wrong." Emma stated emphatically.

"They know that NOW." said Regina, emphasizing the word now, adding, "Sometimes parents make mistakes. Especially when they're young, and scared, and nobody should understand that more than you, Emma!" Seeing that well-known defensive look in her eye, Regina softened her tone, adding, "You're a good person, a hero, you saved this whole town from the dark curse and then, after you saved everybody who deserved saving, you did something even more amazing... you for gave me. You helped me overcome my demons... Please, Emma. Let me return the trust you showed me. Let me help you."

Emma's bottom lip trembled as she spat out, "How can you help me? How can you trust me?!" she cried, "You have no idea how many dark thoughts have racing through my mind. I can't be trusted anymore. The darkness is too strong..."

"No stronger than you Emma." said Regina firmly, "You're The Savior Emma. Your parents may have done wrong when they removed your potential for darkness, but maybe that mistake was for the greater good. You can't be evil, Emma. It's just not possible. The darkness doesn't have a thing to hold on to inside you..."

"But I feel so dark inside..."

"The Darkness can't win, Emma. Not unless you let it."

"Please, Regina. Use the dagger to send me away to somewhere where I can't hurt anyone. Lock me in one of your cells and throw away the key. You have the dagger. If you order me to stay there I'll do it. I'll have no choice..."

"No, Emma! I will not allow you to lose your free will. You'll never be able to beat this darkness sitting alone in a cell. You need to be trusted..." she held out the dagger to Emma, hilt first. "You make your own destiny Emma Swan. I trust you."

Emma hesitated, she tried to look Regina in the eye, but the dagger tugged her eyes back to it. She extended her hand. It shook. But as her grip closed over the dagger a look of exaltation spread across her pale features. "Big mistake, Regina." she said, blasting her backwards with a wave of her hand. "Now..." she said, moving to stand over a stunned Regina, "Give me my son!"


	4. Chapter Three - Human Again

**Chapter Three - Human Again**

Rumple's soft brown eyes blinked weakly in the dim lit pawnshop. He looked around at the shop and the four other people in it and asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in your shop dearie. What's the matter don't you remember?" Zelena asked, looking amused.

"I think I'd remembering having such a prosperous shop." Rumple replied, trying to sit up and failing miserably. "There's more in here than I could earn in three lifetimes."

Zelena murmured something to Lily who returned with a nice cushioned chair which the two of them helped Rumple into, leaving Isaac to keep an eye on Belle. _Oh my God_ , she thought quickly developing a new plan, _the fool doesn't remember anything that's happened to him in the last several centuries..._

"Thank you." said Rumple quietly, breaking into her scheming, "You're being so very kind, but I don't know who you are or how I got here and I..." he broke off and looked around quickly becoming agitated, "Where's my son?! Oh no... Bae... they took him didn't they?" he asked, tears running down his cheeks. "I tried... I tried to stop them. I had a plan to..." he cradled his head in his hands. "I can't remember anything. Please," he pleaded looking Zelena in the eye, "Tell me what happed."

Zelena smiled down at him and stroked his hair, "Oh, Rumple, don't you remember, you DID save your son, you were so very brave, but..." she broke off, "I'm afraid the witch has done a real number on you, love. You see, Baelfire survived the ogre wars and the two of you were very happy until..."

"Until what?" Rumple asked miserably.

Zelena turned and pointed one of her long fingers at Belle, "Until THAT witch murdered him!"

A look of shock and anger sat frozen on Rumple's features as he stared at an equally shocked Belle. Rumple tried to stand, but only managed two steps before his bad leg gave out and all he could do was to stare at Belle with a look of impotent rage. "Grab her!" he called to the others, "Please don't let her get away! She murdered my boy!" too weak to stand, he wept noisily on floor as Zelena petted him on the head and murmured soothingly, "Don't worry dear. We've got them trapped. That's why we came to this strange land. To capture her and make her pay for what she's done."

Finally Belle found her voice, "No! No! Rumple, she's lying." Belle cried passionately, "She's the one who killed Neal... Rumple please, I'm your wife, don't you remember me." she said as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Zelena motioned to Isaac to cover Belle's mouth, "You see what a liar she is?" said Zelena, pointing once again at Belle, "She doesn't even remember Baefire's _name_. Neal indeed," she scoffed, "Obviously she's killed so many men she can't keep them strait anymore and as for being your wife...poppycock. How could she be your wife, when _I'm_ your wife, hmm?" she wiped the tears from Rumple's face and kissed his tear-stained cheek.

Belle screamed into Isaac's hand and tried to break free.

Rumple looked in confusion from one woman to the other, when suddenly the little bell on the pawn shop door rattled madly as Will Scarlet rushed into the shop.

Will took in the scene and began rolling up his sleeves, "I know who you are, mates and I know none of you have any magic anymore... now get yer hands off 'er."

"No magic?" Zelena scoffed, "If I've got no magic, then how can I..." she stalked towards him, her eyes sparkling with venom and thrust her arm into his chest only to root aimlessly in his chest cavity in frustration as the prize she sought eluded her.

"Sorry love." Will said levelly, "But I haven't kept my heart in there in quite some time."

Isaac snorted, "You're sure not having much luck with that trick." added over his shoulder to Lily, "She tried the same thing on Regina a while back and came up empty. I would've written about it but I was trapped in a book at the time."

Zelena glared at Isaac and using her rage confusion against her Will shoved Zelena over and taking one last look at Belle he turned to run for help.

"Oh no you don't!" said Zelena, dragging Will back with streams of cloudy green magic that hurt him badly as they plunked him down next to Belle. "Aw," she commented seeing the pair together, "How sweet."

Rumple rubbed his eyes, "Magic?!" he exclaimed, "YOU have magic...I don't understand..."

Zelena crossed back to kneel beside Rumple and pasted a sickly sweet smile on her face, "Just a little trick you taught me love. After all we need to learn some magic ourselves if we were ever going to capture the wicked Belle of... Endor." Zelena silently thanked Robin Hood for showing poor little unsophisticated Marianne how to use Neal's cable remote.

"I taught YOU magic?" said Rumple skeptically, "No, I would never meddle with something so dangerous..."

"I'm afraid you had no choice dear." she held his face gently in her hands, "It may have taken you three hundred years, love. But you finally caught up with her."

"Three hundred..."

"Shhhh" Zelena silenced him with her finger, "I'm sure your memories will come back soon." she smiled, "In the meantime I think we should do what we came here for..." she rose dramatically to her feet and motioned Isaac and Lily to stand back from Belle and Will.

"What are you going to do to us?" Belle whimpered.

Zelena smiles and goes to one of Rumple's shelves to rummage around until she finds something she likes. Zelena comes back with the gauntlet.

"That's the gauntlet that leads people to the thing they love most..." Belle said with a tremble in her voice.

"Not exactly right, dear." she turned to Rumple, "You know for a witch, this one seems surprisingly ignorant." she looked back at Belle and Will, "This..." she began holding the gauntlet in front of her, "Is the gauntlet of Lancelot du Lac and it always leads the greatest weakness of whoever they want to know about... Now I'm going to show you another trick." Zelena holds up a tiny translucent bean. "Like it?" she asked the pair with a smirk, "I traded the giants for one some time ago, pity stopped trading with human shortly thereafter; a coincidence I'm sure. Now thanks to my green thumbs, Rumple and I need never depend on your dark magic to get ourselves home." she paused to glace at Rumple in what she thought was a loving manner, but was actually quite off-putting to the cowering spinner. She threw the bean at the floor which dissolved into a spinning vortex as she returned her gaze to Belle and Will and raised the gauntlet again, "I'm going to send you, your new boy-toy and this worthless trinket to meet its original owner." Zelena tossed the gauntlet to Will, "Enjoy Camelot." she said, adding with a wicked grin, "Oh and..." Zelena placed her hand over her stomach, "Don't even think of coming back to hurt me or MY husband or _our_ child in the future. I assure you I won't spare you a second time." Laughing Zelena shoved Belle and Will into the magic bean-hole.


	5. Chapter Four - Pain

**Chapter Four - Pain**

"Give me my son!" Dark Emma demanded again, her right hand clenched tight around the dark dagger.

"Never!" Regina declared, getting shakily to her feet and readying one of her fireballs.

Emma swatted Regina's fireball away as if it were merely a pesky fly. She raised the dagger and charged at Regina with murder in her eyes. But just as her blade slashed forward towards Regina's throat, Robin Hood drove in front of Regina and took the injury instead. The former outlaw slumped to the ground... his eyes fixed and unmoving.

"NO!" Regina screamed as she caught Robin's body mid-slump, letting it bear them both to the pavement.

Snow, Charming and Hook stood in shocked silence around Regina as Emma shrugged them off and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

00EMMA00

It's several hours later and Emma Swan, The Dark One... is bored. Sitting at the counter in the apartment she'd shared with her parents and baby brother, she spun the dagger idly on the cracked surface, and tried to think of a something to do while she waited. She felt its presence and addressed it without turning around, "Not you again."

A shadowy figure had appeared behind her. It wore a long black hood which hid its face. "How did it feel?" it asked.

Emma shrugged, "I have no idea what you mean." she lied. "Besides..." she added waving her dagger, "...the Dark One feels nothing."

"We both know that's not true."

Emma made a rude gesture and resumed her dagger spinning.

The shadow giggled archly, "Gesticulate all you want Dearie, there are some things you can never take back."

"He jumped in front of my knife. Not my fault."

"Oh I wasn't referring the _thief_ , Dearie. Robin Hood simply crossed one Dark One too many, Noo no, I was actually talking about my grandson... you know the one I mean. Talkative, loves cinnamon, is _currently_ lying unconscious on your floor..."

Emma looked down at Henry who was as the shadow said unconscious on the floor.

"That was an accident." said Emma firmly, "After the... incident in town; I went to find him..."

"Planning to run away were you? Trust me, Dearie. It doesn't work."

"...Henry said he didn't want to come with me and when I tried to use magic to drag him towards me it... it went _wrong_ somehow" she said softly, looking down at her hands as if they belonged to another, "Instead of pulling him closer it shoved him back towards the wall and knocked him out."

"Sounds like your new dark nature isn't getting along too well with your old white magic." said the shadow. It looked down at Henry, "Why don't you use your healing magic to wake him up?" it asked. "It's not hard, let me show you..."

"No!" she said moving between her son and the shadow, "I'm afraid if I use my healing that could go wrong too and I'll hurt him even more." Her jaw tightened, "Besides, I don't think you can help me anyhow. You're nothing but a shadow, Rumplestiltskin."

Shadow Rumple smiled under his dark robes, "Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it Dark One, I'll always be around..." the shadow giggled again as it disappeared.

The clock chime brought Emma back to herself and she smiled putting the shadow out her mind. She knew what she needed.

00EMMA00

Tired from a night of fruitless searching for Henry the people of storybrook met up at Granny's Dinner to plan their next move...

Snow cradled the glass of hot chocolate between her palms, letting the warmth sink in as she waited for it to cool down to a reasonable sipping temperature.

Charming slipped his arm around Snow's shoulder and kissed her on the side of her head, "I think we should call off the search for tonight. Henry could be anywhere by now."

"But we can't just give up." Snow said, as tears began to form in her tired coal black eyes.

"It's pointless!" said Regina knocking back a shot of bourbon, "If Emma wants to hide Henry, she can easily poof off with him in a moment's notice the minute one of the search parties gets close."

"For all we know they could be in Timbuktu by now." Grumpy muttered over the rim of his second beer.

"No." Regina shook her head, "Magic doesn't work like that here. Believe me if Gold could've gotten out of town with all his magic he'd have done it a long time ago. No no, in this realm magic only works within the boundaries of Storybrook itself. They're both still here. Emma just doesn't want to be found."

"They could've opened a portal or a magic door or something..." Ruby offered.

"Passage into other realms is rare and hard to come by. Like refills." Regina reminded the often absent waitress.

"Only because someone destroyed our entire bean crop..." Grumpy grumbled, reminding everyone that Regina had razed the magic bean fields last year.

Snow got up from her stool and stood by Regina's side, subtly reminding everyone that Regina was now on their side, "Don't worry." she said putting a hand on Regina's shoulder. "She's his mother. She won't hurt him."

Charming nodded, adding, "Speaking of mothers, maybe you and I should go home and check on baby Neal. He could probably use..."

"NEAL!" Snow screamed running for the door, "I left him with Belle this morning!"

"But Belle's been sitting with Gold all night hasn't she?" Charming asked, joining his wife in her panic.

"Glad to see you finally remembered your son." Granny said from behind the counter where she stood with her arms crossed. "Don't worry; he's back in the kitchen sleeping off his dinner. Belle dropped him off here earlier." Granny frowned, "Though why she'd want to waste her time watching _Gold_ sleep is beyond me..."

Looking suitably chastened, Snow and Charming thanked Granny and went back to check on their son.

Setting her drink back on the counter Regina tuned out the rabble as her thoughts turned to a subject she'd been avoiding for hours. _Roland_ , _I'll have to tell him_ _about his father soon_. _It'll be even worse if he hears it from someone else._ She rose unsteadily to her feet and quickly downed the rest of her drink. Best to get it over with, she thought heading for the door. But as her hand reached for the door it was flung open in her face, nearly knocking her over as Emma entered the dinner.

Emma Swan now dressed in a sparkling white pant suit covered in gaudy sequence and accented with a black swan feather boa swaggered into the dinner and approached the counter. "Hot chocolate" she ordered, fixing Granny with a militant stare, "NO cinnamon." Regina glared at her briefly and then she did a very un-Regina like thing and simply walked out the door that Emma had conveniently left open, rather than start another confrontation.

"Emma?" Snow came running out of the kitchen holding baby Neal with Charming nipping at her heals, "Honey... are you ok?"

"Of course she's not ok." interjected Grumpy, "She just absorbed the darkest evil in all the realms. How could she possibly be ok..."

"Leroy please." Charming chided, as he and Snow moved to flank Emma, not in a military sense or anything, more as a show of support.

You... look... good?" said Snow, stumbling over her words. "Very... radiant."

"Yeah I'm positively sparkling these days."

"Emma... what happened to you when you disappeared?" Snow asked, her voice full of motherly concern.

"Nothing happened." Emma lied to her mother, "I just vanished..."

00EMMA00

It had seemed like the right thing, the heroic thing, but as the blackness funneled into her, Emma knew she'd made the wrong call. She could feel it creeping up her body like she was drowning in the darkness. The blackness was absolute, it was unchanging and inescapable ...and then it wasn't. The dark mist lifted like a veil before her eyes and she saw that she was no longer in Storybrooke, but in a village. Though she was sure she'd never been in this particular village before, she was sure she was back in The Enchanted Forest. Suddenly she heard a soft voice in the forest and in the blink of an eye she was transported deep into the wood, along a winding road that had clearly never seen concrete.

Ahead she saw a man and boy stumbling down the road.

"It feels wrong to run away." said the boy.

"It's worse to die, son." the man replied, "I'm not having you taken away to the Ogres' war."

Emma noticed the man walked with a crutch. He also looked scared to death. Just then a beggar appeared, funny that she hadn't noticed him before...

"Alms for the poor?" the beggar called in a thin voice, "Alms for the poor?"

The lame man must've been moved by his plea, for despite his own impoverished appearance he dug into his small purse and handed the beggar a few coins.

"Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" the beggar chorused, moving off towards the town, no doubt to try his luck with the people there.

Emma wasn't interested in the beggar just now. She watched as the man and boy continued their slow flight into the woods.

"Are we sure there's no other way?" the boy asked.

"Oh, I can't lose you, Bae. You're all I've got left, son. You don't understand what war is like – what they do to you..."

" _Bae_?" Emma repeated the name under her breath like a prayer, as the pieces fell into place in her mind. _Neal!_ Her mind reeled at the thought, but somehow she knew she was witnessing something that had happened centuries ago to the first man she had ever truly loved. _But if the child is Neal than that must be his father Rum..._

"That's right Dearie, it's all starting knit together now isn't it."

Emma spun around to see a man in dark robes. His face was half hidden by the deep cowl he wore, but the specter's twisted smile was unmistakably golden.

"Gold." she hissed through clenched teeth, "Why did you bring me here?"

" _I?"_ the specter's voice dissolved into a high giggle, "I have done nothing Dark One. This journey you're on isn't by my will. I am dead after all." he chuckled, "Mostly dead anyway."

"Take me back to Storybook and I'll be happy to finish the job." she growled.

The specter of Rumpelstiltskin placed a vaguely transparent hand to his heart in a pantomime of hurt feelings, "Such hostility."

"Oh yeah." Emma nodded emphatically.

The specter giggled again and disappeared just as she lunged at his throat. Emma's hands clenched and unclenched with anger. _Everybody in this whole damn universe is a dirty rotten bastard_. Hearing a jeering sort of laughter, she turned around to see the lame man and his so... and Baelfire... were now surrounded by soldiers who were mocking Rumplestiltskin...

"Hmmm... what was your name?" the lead soldier asked, "Spindleshanks? Threadwhistle? Hobblefoot?"

The boy spoke up proudly, "His name's Rumplestiltskin!"

Frightened by his son's boldness, Rumplestiltskin hushed his son, but the soldier all to clearly recognized his name. "Ah... the man who ran. Is this your boy? How old is he? What's your name?"

"I'm Baelfire and I'm thirteen."

"When's your birthday?"

"In two days time."

Rumpelstiltskin blanched; _did_ _his son not understand the danger he was in_? "Hush, boy!" he said. Tears started to form in his eyes.

"Did you teach him how to run as well, Rumpelstiltskin? Did he tell you? Did he tell you how he ran and the ogres turned the tide of the battle, and all the others were killed, and he returned home to a wife who could not bear the sight of him?"

"Please…" Rumpelstiltskin begged, willing the swaggering soldier to be silent.

"You see, women do not like to be married to cowards."

"Please don't speak to my boy like that."

"It's treason to avoid service. Take the boy now."

"No, no, no, no! What do you want?"

"What do I want? You have no money, no influence, no land, no title, no power. The truth is, all you really have is... fealty. Kiss my boot."

"I don't understand..."

"You asked my price. Kiss my boot."

"Not in front of my boy."

"Kiss my boot!"

Emma watched in disgust as Rumplestiltskin fell to his knees and kissed the soldiers filthy boots. "Right." she said, "That's enough of that!" charging at the men Emma expelled a bolt of lightning at the lead soldier's arrogant head, but the bolt went right through him and disappeared in a disappointing pop.

"I'm afraid you can't change the past my child. No matter how much you may wish too."

Emma spun round to see the shadow had returned. Yet when she squinted her eyes a bit she realized that this shadow was different, greyer in the places the other was golden and where Gold had been slightly transparent, she could see right through Zoso. "Oh, great, another one, so who exactly are you?" she asked.

"Oh, just another part of you my child" the grey shadow said, "Another dark desperate soul who placed themselves beyond redemption." he threw back the hood of his cloak, "My name was Zoso."

"Ok. Nice to meet you, 'Zoso', well not exactly nice, but you know what I mean." Emma said, crossing her arms, "So I have a few questions." the shadow nodded, which Emma took as a signal to continue, "Alright... let's start with why are I am here? Why doesn't my magic work anymore? Oh and you wouldn't happen to know how I can get rid of this, you know, 'Dark One' thing would you?"

Zoso smiled revealing an incomplete set of jagged yellow teeth, "You're here to meet yourself, child and you're magic doesn't work because this is the Shadowland of Memory and nothing can truly be altered here. And as for your last question, The Dark Ones hosts have been trying to rid themselves of the dark curse for many centuries. None have succeeded, though Rumplestiltskin came close."

"You meant that wizard hat thing where he tried to murder Hook?"

Zoso nodded solemnly. "Pity you didn't allow him to succeed. You might have saved the realms from a new kind of Dark Age."

"Oh please! Gold wasn't doing that for the realms, he was doing it for himself!"

"And you?"

"I'm doing this for my family and for my friends! Totally different."

"The shadow remained silent.

"Are you going guys going to be poofing in and out of my life all night like the old Dickens play or what?" Emma asked.

Zoso shook his head, "We are but shadows Emma. Memories if you like. We're here because we're part of you now and you need to know yourself before you can move on."

Emma looked back at the road to see Rumple and Bae had been joined by the beggar once more, "Wait!" she spun back around to face the shadow, "That's you! You were the beggar!"

Zoso nodded, "I was the beggar." he confirmed, "But it wasn't really gold that I was begging for." he paused, "I begged for death." The shadow reached out his hand and touched Emma on the shoulder and the scene changed. They were now in a clearing apparently somewhere deeper in the woods. The road was gone at any rate and before her a different scene was playing out... Rumplestiltskin stood in the middle of the clearing holding up his dagger... no, not his dagger yet. The engraving on the knife bore Zoso's name. He was trying to summon The Dark One!

"Zoso... ZOSO! I summon thee!"

Nothing happened at first, but just when Rumple seemed to be losing all hope that his plan could work, The Dark One appeared behind him, startling him.

"You were asking for me?" The Dark One intoned.

"Submit, O Dark One! I control you!"

The words were strong, but Emma could _feel_ the fear behind his eyes so strongly that it almost seemed like the fear belonged to her. Maybe it did now.

"Yes, you do. Wield the power wisely. You can wield at any time now. It's almost dawn. That means it's your son's birthday. I bet Hordor and his men are already on their way to your house."

A sudden wave of fear nearly dropped the bottom out of Emma's stomach.

"No, they can't take him!"

"You don't control them; you control me. Have you ever wondered, was he really _your_ child at all? Unlike you, he's not a coward and yearns to fight and die in glory."

"Talk about a low blow." Emma muttered, wishing she had the power to stop what was about to happen.

"What a poor bargain that would be," Zoso continued, "to lay down your soul to save your bastard son." he paused, "So, I ask you... what would you have me do?"

I look of determination crossed Rumpelstiltskin's weak face, "Die." without hesitating he plunged the knife into Zoso's chest.

Bad move, thought Emma even as Zoso began to laugh revealing his true identity to his unfortunate savior.

"It's you. You're the beggar."

 _Sounds like the poor bastard has finally realized that he's been tricked,_ thought Emma with a surprising stab of sympathy. She wasn't entirely sure if the sympathy came from her or from Zoso.

"Looks like you made a deal you didn't understand. I don't think you're going to do that again."

 _Guess that's where the deals came in..._

"You _told_ me to kill you..." Rumple said, the hurt plain in his voice.

"My life was such a burden. You'll see. Magic always comes with a price and now, it's yours to pay."

Once more a knot of fear ripped away at Emma's stomach. _It was hers to pay now_. She realized for the first time the true enormity of what she'd done.

"Why me? Why me?" Rumple demanded.

"I know how to recognize a desperate soul."

"No! No! Stay! You have to tell me what to do! Tell me what to do!" Rumple cried in anguish and regret. His skin began to take on a golden hue as he removed the dagger from Zoso's body only to see that the name on the dagger had changed. Now it bore his own name in deep engraved letters. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he disappeared from the clearing in a puff of black smoke leaving the dagger behind to fall noiselessly to the soft ground.

"No wait!" Emma cried, rushing into the clearing. "Where did he go?" she asked, turning back to the shadow. "Why I'm right here, Dearie," said the shadow, dropping his hood to reveal that Gold's shadow had returned.

Emma looked down at the dagger lying at her feet, still stained crimson with Zoso's blood. "Why did you leave it behind? Surely..."

"He'll come back for it later." Shadow Rumple said, "luckily for him no one else came along and snatched it up while he was ...here."

"And by here you mean, HERE." Emma indicated the woods around them, but the shadow knew what she meant. "So you went through this too? Why?"

"All Dark Ones must come _here_ first." he confirmed, "Though I have to admit, Dearie, I don't really know why."

"What happened when you were here?" she asked.

"Oh same old same old." Rumple said in a strange sing song voice, "I came. I saw. I left."

"But what exactly did you see Gold? Why do you always have to talk in riddles! You're dead, stop acting like a child."

Rumple giggled, "Well let's me think back now... it's been every such a long life I led after all. Things get hazy... Oh yes. I remember appearing in a quaint little village full of strange people who completely ignored me when I begged them for help. Not that I'm not used to being ignored, but these people really took things too far..."

"They couldn't see you!" snapped Emma. "Just... just get on with it." she added in a more civil tone.

"Fine." said Gold, "After a time I felt myself drawn, as it were, towards a certain humble cottage on the edge of town and there I witnessed a most... _touching_ domestic scene between a baker and his wife. Apparently they'd been wed for quite some time now and the wife was getting a mite... impatient about having a child and she was demanding that her husband go into the garden of the witch next door..."

"A witch lived next door?" Emma rolled her eyes, "Ok, I can see that this won't go well. Why in Hell didn't they just move?"

"House hunting in the Enchanted Forest is a more complicated affair than you might realize."

"Fine. So the baker went into the witch's garden..." Emma prompted, deciding she might as well hear the rest of the story.

"Yes, and he stole some cabbage..."

"Cabbage really?"

"What did you expect a doughnut bush?"

Emma rolled her eyes again and motioned for him to continue.

"The cabbage was magical you see and by eating it, the baker's wife was able to become pregnant at last and all was well for a time. But as the baker's wife's belly grew she demanded more and more cabbage from the witch's garden. Nothing else would satisfy her hunger and one day the baker's luck ran out and the witch caught him stealing her cabbage."

"I bet that went well."

"Indeed not, for the witch demanded payment for the pilfered magic and the baker being a poor man had no money to pay her with. So..." the shadow paused, "she took his wife and their unborn child and sent them away to another realm where the baker could never hope to see them again."

The shadow of Rumplestiltskin paused and Emma knew he was sad, because she felt it too.

"Did he ever find her?" she asked.

"He looked for a long time. He roamed the realms asking for news of his wife and their child. Paying calls on every witch and wizard he could find to beg them to help him, but none of them would interfere in the matter. The baker grew old wandering, until one day he chanced to meet a soldier with an invisible cloak who promised to help him find his wife if he could kill a particular pig..."

"That's it? All those years wandering and all needed to do was to kill a pig?"

"I'm afraid it wasn't as easy as that."

"It never is, but go on, what was the catch?"

"The 'catch' was that the pig was invisible. It sounded like an impossible task, but the baker was a desperate man so he agreed to try. The soldier handed the baker a dagger and pointed to his right, saying 'the pig is over there, can't you hear it?'. The baker lunged at the spot where the bird had been only to hear pig grunts coming from behind him. Round and round he danced stabbing at the air, trying to stab the pig, but what he didn't know was that the invisible pig never existed. It was simply the soldier in his invisible cloak playing a trick on him. The soldier easy avoided his blows until the baker's feigned a stab to the right while holding his leg out behind him hoping to trip the pig up."

"Did it work?"

"It did. The baker felt the heavy body fall to the ground and he stabbed it. He was trying to kill the pig of course, but you can guess what he really killed."

"The previous Dark One?"

Gold nodded, "I never got to hear Claus' story I'm afraid. But I got the impression from Zoso that he was rather a silly little man and being the Dark One was one big joke to him."

"Did Zoso find his wife and child at least?"

"He did, but alas they were terrified of him and what he'd become. Also the wife had remarried in the far away realm the witch had sent her too and thanks to all that cabbage it had been a rather productive marriage. Fourteen boys in fact, and they did not appreciate mummy ex showing up from what I heard."

"That's too bad." Emma asked, "So did you ever meet Claus when you were in limboland? Is he going to show up here in a few minutes to show me his story?"

"The memories fade." said Shadow Rumple, "The further into the past the more faded they become... and Zoso clearly had little interest in keeping Claus' memories alive." he paused, adding forebodingly, "The memories of the hosts fade away with time, Dearie, but remember this well new Dark One... HE always abides..."

"What the Hell does that mean?!" Emma demanded, but the shadow of Rumplestiltskin had already fled.

Emma felt a deep overwhelming nausea hit her. Almost against her will she turned around to see that a new shadow was coming for her. As the darkness came for her Emma willed herself to run, but her legs refused to obey and as the dark shadow inundated her, the last vestiges of the woman who used to be Emma Swan began to scream.


	6. Chapter Five - Divided

**Chapter Five - Divided**

00BELLE00

The road was dusty and hard and Belle dearly wished she hadn't been wearing heels when Zelena forced them into the portal. She looked over at Will, but he avoided her gaze. _He_ at least had decent shoes.

The forest they'd landed in was green and fragrant and soft enough to cushion their fall as they slid out of the bean-hole. _'Must be summer than'_ had been Will's sole comment on their new predicament and the pair had shared few words since. The road had been easy enough to find, though road was hardly the best description for it in her opinion.

At first Belle hadn't minded the silence between them, after all she had a great deal on her mind, but she'd quickly discovered there were only so many ways she could think of murdering Zelena before the glaringly obvious fact that she would have to find a way home before any murdering could be done took over her thoughts. She'd tried to discuss the problem with Will, but he seemed annoyingly indifferent on the matter, but then again he had always been like this. That was part of the reason she'd enjoyed his company, he was always so calm and detached about everything. _But calm and detached wasn't what she needed now_. _She needed action! She needed someone who cared! Someone who would do ...something! ...She needed Rumple._ Distracted, Belle stumbled against a rock, nearly snapping her ankle in the process _, '_ Curse these heels!' she muttered as she righted herself and hurried after Will who was quickly outpacing her _, how could he not grasp that she couldn't keep up in these heels!?_ Belle hurried on, spurned by an inner anger that had only a little to do with Will's thoughtless behavior, no this anger had been building for some time and she wasn't even sure who was to blame for it. She was furious at her husband for hiding so much from her, but there was also some part of her that understood why he'd wanted to hide his impending death from her ...but she was his wife! He should've told her so that they could decide on a plan together, but NO he just had to hide thing sand go behind her back to fix things and look where that all ended! ... _I suppose it was my fault too_ , she sighed, _I should've listened to him, but I was just so angry and... and... I'm not even sure why now_ ; she shook her head, a gesture that was becoming a habit lately as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her abused brain; she knew there were gaps in her memory, at first she had blamed Rumple entirely, but the memory lapses hadn't stopped when he left town. She knew now who had been to blame for those, but she brushed that thought away, 'Not important right now' she said, 'What's important now is finding a way home and stopping Zelena from whatever awful plans she had for Rumple...' _But even if they could get home and save him, how could she win him back when he didn't even remember her?_

So intent on her thought was she that she didn't notice that Will had stopped until she ran into his back; nearly falling backwards into the dusty road thanks to those stupid heels she was wearing. She was about to tell Will exactly how badly she wanted to kick him with her stilettos, when she noticed that his hands were up in the universal gesture of surrender. And when she saw the drawn swords pointed in their direction she promptly joined him.

00ZELENA00

Zelena had absolute sacks full of magic beans and could've chosen any land in which to settle, but for some reason she had felt drawn to her own childhood home. Her 'father' had died some years back and apparently the cottage had been vacant since, if cobwebs were any judge and since housework was hardly a witch's idea of a good time, she was sorely tempted to use magic to clean the place, but she was pretty sure her 'husband' had seen enough magic today. Anymore and he might start to remember who the real witch was. _Oh well_ , she shrugged and fetched a broom, a dustpan and few rags from the kitchen, right where she'd left them all those years ago, and tying her adoptive mother's apron around her waist she began to sweep, tossing rags to Lily and Isaac with a rather forceful look that said, 'clean or else!'

After dusting her father's chair Zelena guided her woozy husband to it and told him to rest and 'let wifey take care of everything'. He'd collapsed into the chair without comment and whenever Zelena looked up from her cleaning she noticed that his eyes were following her, he looked vaguely confused about it all, but Zelena thought she detected a certain peace about his features now that had been missing back in Storybrook. It seemed all this domestic claptrap really appealed to him. He even seemed to be looking at _her_ in a more appreciative way.

What is with this man and his attraction to _maids_? she wondered returning sulkily to her broom.

00EMMA00

Emma carried Henry as if he were lighter than a feather. As she laid him gently down in the middle of the forest he moaned softly; he'd be alright now she guessed. Though her own knowledge of concussion came more from watching crime shows than any real practical applications. ' _Oh well, if he seems like he has brain damage than I'll just have to risk using a little more magic to fix him._ ' she decided, the guilt she'd been feeling over Henry's head injury was already fading away. _I guess Darkness has its perks after all._

Her fingers tingled with magic, but she still felt a nagging sense of doubt over using it. With a slow and surprisingly gentle gesture she raised her hand and swatted down a few trees making a small clearing in the thickest part of the woods.

 _"Why do you hesitate?"_

She wasn't sure if the voice was in her head or standing behind her, but she didn't want to turn around. "I'm just being cautious." she said, "I don't want anything else to go wrong, ok?"

 _"The Dark One fears nothing."_

"Maybe I'm a new breed of 'Dark One' then." she said, "Did you ever think of that?"

The darkness laughed. It was the most disturbing sound Emma had ever heard in her life.

" _Ah such spirit in you_!" it sounded pleased. " _Go ahead and fight me Emma Swan_." it said, " _They all fought me, even stupid Claus, but_ ** _I_** _always win..."_

Feeling her fear of using magic fade away like a dream, Emma raised her arms and with a mighty blow leveled a hundred trees. Using the wood and rocks around her she began to weave a castle of magic around her and her son.

00BELLE00

Belle shrieked in pain as a sudden jolt passed through the wicker cage she was riding in causing her body to rise in the air just far enough to make the landing painful. She knew there was no point in asking her captors to go a bit slower and watch out for bumps in the rough road. The knights had pegged Will for a thief right away and as for Belle, her cheeks were still burning after the appraising she'd gotten... _a 'lewd' woman indeed_! Belle blew out an angry breath; her clothes were perfectly respectable! _Too much ankle indeed, surprising they didn't mention the prominent display of calves and knees while they were at it_ , she muttered, kicking Will in the ribs for good measure. How could he sleep when they were being carted off to some dank dungeon?!

The kick must've hit home because Will was awake now and Belle decided it was high time they discussed a few things... "So what happened to your heart?" Belle asked in a friendly tone that belied the kick she'd just given him.

"Like I told that ginger witch; I haven't kept me heart in there (he thumps his chest) in quite some time."

"Let me be more specific..." she corrected, "Why _don't_ you have a heart, Will? There must be a reason..." she pursued persuasively.

"I'm just an ordinary bloke, love. Not like all those crazy magical folk back in Storybrook. Don't overcomplicate things and you'll know exactly why I don't keep my heart in my chest anymore."

"A woman?" she guessed. He nodded dismissively, offering no details. "Ok... will you tell me what happened?" she persisted.

"Why?" he asked sulkily, "Let the past stay where it is, Belle. Just let it be..."

"Will, whatever may have happened between, I am still your friend and while I don't want to pry..."

"So why you prying then?"

"Because I want to understand you, Will!" Belle snapped, momentarily losing her patience, "We've been spending time together for months now, I'm not exactly sure what was between us or what happened to whatever is was, frankly my memory feels like Swiss-cheese some mornings... I wake up in odd places, I turn to do something and suddenly I'm in a completely different part of the room... once I put a kettle on the stove and in a BLINK it had boiled dry!"

Alarmed that the guards were taking notice, Will motioned for Belle to calm done and lower her voice, "Do you want to get us in even more trouble?" he asked.

Belle winced and lowered her voice, "I'm sorry," she said, "I just feel so angry and so ...confused... I feel like I've been _used_ and _lied_ too and I don't understand why. At first I thought it was husband who was wiping my memories so that he could hide something from me and I still think he was responsible for at least some of it, but, Will... the memory lapses kept happening even _after_ he left and before he came back. I even went to see Doctor Whale and couldn't find a thing wrong with me."

"I'm sure he had a good look too." Will quipped.

"The point is... "she said, "I've been thinking about everything that's happened to me... to US... and trying to put the puzzle together and then when Rumple brought me my heart..."

"I did most of the work really." Will interjected, "But go on..."

"As I said," she continued, "When Rumple gave me back my heart, which I didn't even realize that I'd lost ...as soon as he put it back in ...everything slide into place in my head and I suddenly thought about all the 'visits' I'd had from 'my friend' Regina and I knew... I KNEW that she'd been using me for a long time... for reasons of her own. Mostly to hurt Rumple, I think..."

"No one's using me, love." broke in Will, "I know _exactly_ where my heart is and trust me no one is 'controlling' me with it. I just didn't want to feel nothing anymore."

After a few moments, Belle spoke again, this time in a much softer tone, "Let me tell you something, Will..." she said, "I hurt inside." she placed both her hands over her heart; "Ever since Rumple returned this to me it's been in agony. Over my wrecked marriage more than anything, but let me tell you ...I would never, NEVER trade my pain away. I need that pain, because that pain is _motivating_ me to find my way home so that I can fix things with my husband and save all my friends... my real friends, from that lying witch and so help me, Will ...I will die trying to get back to them if I have too. I'm tired of being used Will. We ARE going to get home and I WILL fight to save my marriage and if you're half the man I think you are then you'll go get your heart back and fight for your love too."

"It's not as easy as that. She married someone else."

"Oh, well that does pose a bit of a problem." she admitted, Are you absolutely sure that she's your true love...?"

"She may not have been true." he said, "But she's the only girl for me." he paused, "Maybe it's me that was wrong for her. Maybe I wasn't her true love after all, even though she was mine... I can't blame her really. He was a king you know, the man you threw me over for... The Red King as it happens. Not that that probably means much to you..."

Belle placed her hand on Will's shoulder, "At the very least she owes you an explanation." she said gently. "I need you Will," she added, "You know this realm so much better than I do and..."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"This realm," Belle repeated peeling back the rotting straw on which they sat to uncover the crest clearly emblazoned on the wooden slats... "Camelot."

"What the bloody 'ell makes you think I know a thing about this Camelot?"

"But..." she stammered, "You're WILL SCARLETT! Shouldn't you know about Camelot? This is your realm isn't it? How could you not know who King Arthur is?"

"Give me a break love. I didn't exactly grow up around here, though..." he looked through the cage at the passing countryside, "...I admit the place does look a might familiar."

Belle's brow furrowed in thought, "I guess maybe I'm mixed up. I've read about you you know, in a book. And I've read about Camelot too, but I thought they were related somehow."

"Trust me love, I never heard of King Arthur." said Will, "Richard was king in when I left Sherwood, though his brother did try his best to take his thrown away... So," he said, taking an interest at last, "How 'bout YOU Tell ME about Camelot."

Belle shrugged, "All I really know is what I read of course," she said, "And keep in mind the stories aren't always accurate to what really happened, why you should read this world's version of my story, it..."

Will coughed, "Camelot?"

Belle blushed, "Right," she said, "Ok, I don't know how accurate this is, but the story goes like this..."

00ZELENA00

Zelena dropped her basket on the table, leaving Isaac and Lily to sort through the week's shopping as she grabbed the fresh bundle of straw and brought it to Rumple who was, as usual spinning at his wheel.

"Your straw..." she said gaily, "Dropping the new bundle in his nearly empty straw box.

Rumple blinked, as if he was just waking from a dream. "Oh ...yes. Thank you my dear." he said, somewhat abstractedly, his fingers again spinning the straw after only a momentary lapse in rhythm.

"I bet I know a way to temp you away from that wheel..." she said, pulling a meat pie from her pocket, "Your favorite, I believe..." she said leaning in to kiss him, but only grazing a bit of cheek as her 'husband' once again flinched away from her.

Zelena turned away to hide the rage flowing over her face, _'Why does he keep rejecting me!_ ' she wailed inwardly, storming off to the kitchen to take her anger out on Isaac and Lily. _Robin Hood hadn't been nearly this difficult..._

"I think if we just asked her to let us go back, she might..." Lily whispered.

"I might what...?" Zelena asked entering the room.

Lily swallowed, "You see Zelena, it's like this..."

"We want to go home." Isaac interjected. "We're both tired of playing the part of 'the help' in your little domestic play. This was not the deal Zelena and you know it."

"Oh yes, I know." said Zelena in a low mocking tone, "You..." she pointed to Lily, "Want revenge on the Charmings and you..." she pointed to Isaac, "Want your fame and fortune back... what pedestrian little fantasies you have."

"Says the woman who's currently playing house with another's woman's husband, while _carrying_ the child of yet another man who thought HE was her husband..."

"I warn you Author..."

"Not The Author anymore." he reminded her. "Believe me if I was I would've whittled myself a quill and written my way out of this nightmare weeks ago."

"Well if you're so clever why don't you work out where I've hidden the beans then and be on your way?" she challenged.

"Look, just give us a bean Zelena and we'll be on our way." said Lily. "You don't really need us here and unless you're willing to use some magic and add on a couple of bedrooms... really, Zelena all I really want at this moment is to sleep in a bed again..." she glanced at Isaac and added, "...alone."

"Fine." Zelena said petulantly. _Maybe it's for the best_ , she thought, _with Miss Gloom and Mr. Doom gone, Rumple might warm up to me a little faster_. Brightening, she snapped her fingers and a magic bean appeared in her hand. "Just take it go." she said. "But don't come crawling back to me if Sheriff locks you both up again..."

Unheeding of the raised voices coming from the kitchen, Rumple continued to spin faster and faster till the rhythm of the straw matched the rhythm of the images as they swirled around him, tantalizing him with memories he couldn't quite touch and the face of a woman that he couldn't quite bring into focus.

00EMMA00

Emma's castle was crafted with fairytale splendor in mind; the walls were four feet thick and made of transparent aluminum, which made the house castle appear as if it was made of smoke. The part for her was that she could easily see out, while anyone looking in would simply see their own reflection in a smokey haze.

"Cool." Henry had said, "It's just like a two-way mirror from a cop show!"

"Its bullet proof too." she'd told him.

"Is that really necessary?" he'd asked.

"I hope not."

The shadow had scoffed at her building efforts of course, saying in that high pitch sing-song pantomime voice that outed him as the shade of Rumplestiltskin, 'Remember Dearie... all magic comes with a price. Best not let your debt grow too large...'

Emma had thrown a tree through him. Not that it hurt him any. She smiled at the memory just the same, happy to stick one to the annoying little bugger, and happier still that her son seemed to be warming to the place. Though she could sense he was acting a part at times ... _but why should that bother The Dark One_? If Henry needed to bolster his morale behind a few white lies to make peace with the solitude of their new lives, let him too it. She had other things to do.

Though what those other things were Emma was increasingly uncertain. She remembered when she took the darkness on, how certain she'd been that she could beat it; that her family could beat it. But that was before, before she tasted the true Darkness and before it had tasted her.

Emma needed to clear her mind, so as was her want of late she went to polish her bedroom door. Emma loved this door. The words etched into the solid silver were familiar and beloved... she began to polish. Murmuring the familiar words carved into the silver like an incantation;

 **The course of true love never did run smooth Don't waste your love on somebody who doesn't value it**

 **Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change**

 **What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet**

 **Did my heart love till now is love a tender thing? It is too rough too rude too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn**

 **Deny thy father and refuse thy name or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet**

 **Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books but love from love toward school with heavy looks**

 **Good-night, good-night! Parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good-night till it be morrow.**

 **Give me my Romeo and when he shall die take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of Heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.**

 **See what a scourge is laid upon your hate that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love**

Like most kids her age she had hated Shakespeare in school, that weird language and all that crap about dead kings... but for some reason Romeo and Juliet had been different. The tale of two true lovers' lives being torn apart by their rotten families had spoken to her long before she knew how truly awful family can be... _wait, did I really just think that_? she gut-checked herself. 'I do NOT blame my parents for this!' she said aloud to help convince herself, 'I _chose_ this path and I am going to find a solution to this darkness ...and if I can't than I ...I will learn how to live with it.'

Gradually as she polished the bard's words she realized that they were beginning to wipe away; replaced by another phase repeated over and over again...

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

 **'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.' 'All magic comes with a price.'**

Emma hammered her fists against the door and screamed; closing her eyes against the words... when she finally opened her eyes it was to find her door once again covered as before with love lines from Romeo and Juliet.

Suddenly Emma sensed that something was wrong, something the door had been distracting her from. She called for Henry, but he didn't come. A quick search of the castle had only confirmed her suspicions; her son had run away from home.

Adding insult to injury, Shadow Rumple appeared to mock her, "Don't say I didn't warn you, Dearie." it said, grinning from behind its cloak, "All magic comes with a price..."

Emma wondered how long she was going to have to put up with _him_ popping in and out of her life at will... 'If only I could ask the _real_ Rumplestiltskin that question...' she mumbled. Then magic'ing up a new outfit out of silver and leather that she was sure would make Regina jealous Emma flung open the castle gates and went to pay a little call on the mayor.


	7. Chapter Six - Alliances

**Chapter Six - Alliances**

00BELLE00

Keeping a tight-lipped smile pasted on her face as the dreary old woman droned on about 'decorum', 'modesty' and 'a woman's place' Belle paid little attention. Instead she surreptitiously scanned the room for any and all escape routes out of etiquette hell hall.

Her 'immodest' dress and 'ridiculous' shoes had been burnt without ceremony and she was now wearing a new wool dress which covered all the right areas and itched in all the wrong ones. She hadn't seen Will since they'd arrived in Camelot, but she gathered he was probably rotting in a dungeon somewhere beneath her feet. To her relief the old woman soon left and so she began her meticulously thought out escape plan by testing the door. To her great surprise the heavy wooden door swung open soundlessly at the merest push and she found herself in a passageway of sorts which boasted several identical doors on either side with an open archway leading to what looked like a larger room on one end of the passage and another archway leading to a dark stairway at the other end. She chose the stairway, deciding recuing Will or at least finding out for sure where he was should be her first priority, at least until she could come up with a better plan and as a former princess she was well aware that only _noble_ prisoners were kept in towers. The stairs it was then.

Fear gripped her heart as she groped her way down the dark stairwell; she guessed that people from the castle must carry torches when _they_ needed to use these stairs. Once she finally reached the bottom and found her way lit by candlelight flowing from several wall-mounted braziers she breathed a deep sigh of relief, only to panic anew as she heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming down the stairwell behind her. Ceasing on her first opportunity for escape, she flung open the only door in sight and slide through, shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could.

Turning she smiled despite her frightful predicament, _a library_! She thrilled to the sight, quickly noting that the room was triple height and featured the medieval equivalent of a skylight, as well as more stained glass than she'd ever seen in her life. The lowest level was round and entirely covered in bookshelves, the only break being a stone staircase which wound its way up to the window level which featured its own bookshelves, these much more elaborate than the ones down here at 'basement' level. There was also she noted a modest desk and many very comfortable looking chairs dotted around the large yet cozy chamber. This last observation proved the most useful when she heard the footsteps pause at the library door.

Belle dived for cover behind a particularly threadbare chair and sat holding her breath, praying silently that whoever had just entered wasn't going to come and sit in the chair she was hiding behind... but of course that is exactly what they did. With a heavy heart Belle listened as the footsteps shuffled across the floor, _perhaps to retrieve a book?_ , only to return directly to her hiding place. She stifled a scream when a weight dropped heavily into the chair she was hiding behind, shaking Belle right along with the chair. She heard the light rustling of pages and realized that she might well be stuck here for quite some time.

Belle willed herself to be calm and patient, she knew getting caught now could well end her chances at escaping at all as she was unlikely to be left alone in an unlocked room again... As she appeared to have the time she scanned the book titles nearest to her; _Superior Incantations_... _Medicinal Uses for Magic_... _Dreamshade and Other Hokum_... _Glamour Spells and How to Spot Them_... She smiled, _Spell books_! Quickly she realized that this library could well hold the secret to her escape not just from Camelot but from this realm and all the way home to Storybrook! She resisted the urge to cheer, but her exultation was short lived as the sitting man spoke.

"You do realize young woman that hiding from a wizard is a rather foolish thing to do."

It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, but once they had Belle wasted no time in revealing herself, knowing that delays at this stage were worthless.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, noting that the man was not _quite_ so old as his voice sounded. _Or perhaps he was_ , she thought as she gazed into his soft gray eyes. She'd been around enough magic in her life to recognize it when she saw it and this man was steeped in magic! Why he might even be older than her husband, she realized, seeing somewhere deep in his eyes a quality of age that seemed to stretch forever backwards in time.

"Well child, do I meet with your approval?" he asked, sounding amused rather than angry.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked quietly, instinctively showing this man the respect she felt he was due.

"Not in the least, though I suspect you're not one of Arthur's fallen roses. I've yet to meet a prostitute or even a courtesan who can read."

"How did you know that I c..."

"I can see it in your face child. You love books just as I do. I only hope their company brings you greater solace than it has brought to me of late."

"Are you troubled as well?"

"Yes, yes." he nodded sadly as if a great weight were pressing down on his neck. "So very troubled child. First it was only bad dreams, but lately the bad things have appeared in my waking as well and yesterday a star shot across the sky and had not permission to do so. A very bad omen I think or possibly a very good one. Stars have always been enigmatic in that way... I only wish I could remember..."

"Remember what?"

"What the darkness says in my dreams." he said wearily, absently stroking the bridge of his nose, "Whether I run from it or confront it outright, in the end it always grabs me by the throat and whispers _something_ in my ear... but I can never remember what it said once the dream has ended..."

"The... darkness?" Belle gasped, "Do you mean 'The Dark One'? Is he the darkness that haunts your dreams?"

The old(ish) man lunged forward and pulled Belle close. He stared into her eyes for a time before speaking, "Child... your life has been marred by the darkness. I can feel the sorrow flowing through your heart! Does the dagger no longer serve its purpose?"

"It's not that..." Belle began, "The dagger still holds sway over the Dark One, the problem is my husband, you see he was once under the Dark Curse himself... for quite a long time actually and now that the curse is finally gone he doesn't remember me anymore and now I'm trapped in this realm and I don't know how I can get back to him..." Belle's voice faltered as she started to cry.

"Hush child," he said, drawing Belle into his lap as if she were a small child, maybe in a way she was to him. "I think this merits a story and I have, as I suspect you do also, a weakness for stories... Now, child... tell Merlin all about it..."


	8. Chapter Seven - Common Descent

**Chapter Seven - Common Descent**

Regina kissed Roland on the head and tucked the blanket under his chin even though it was a warm night. Then she went down to the kitchen and made a couple of mugs of hot chocolate, adding cinnamon to one and whisky to the other, she carried the mugs to the parlor and handed the cinnamon mug to Henry.

"You do know that she'll come looking for you here, Henry?"

Henry smiled and took a tentative sip of his hot beverage, "I'm counting on it." he said.

"Are you wishing you hadn't broken The Author's Quill?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Henry hung his head, "If I hadn't been so stupid I could've fixed all of this... I could've been a hero. Instead I'm just ...ordinary. Again."

"Henry you were _never_ ordinary!" Regina placed her arms around her son, "Remember what we learned in Neverland, you Henry, you have the heart of the truest believer!" she reminded him, "And even without the quill you're still The Author and I don't think The Apprentice would've chosen you for the job if he thought you were 'ordinary'."

"Believe me I remember Neverland mom. I remember that almost got you all killed when I gave my heart to Pan and then when he swapped bodies with me, if it hadn't been for grandpa Gold..."

Regina stiffened, "I'd rather not talk about him." she said setting her mug down on the coffee table.

"Because he's probably dead?"

"We don't know that Henry. He just disappeared, that's all. Happens to magic users all the time."

"But he didn't have magic anymore! The Apprentice sucked it all out!"

"No, he removed the Dark Curse from his heart." Regina corrected him, "I highly doubt he could remove all the magic, his cells must be loaded with the stuff by now. If he _had_ died like he claimed he would, I would've made sure they buried him in a lead-lined coffin under a strict protection spell..."

"I get the point." he said, changing the subject, "She won't hurt you, you know."

"Our frequent trips to the cemetery to put fresh roses on Robin Hood's grave would beg to differ."

"She wasn't herself then! She's really really sorry she did it. I can tell!" Henry said, believing it to be true, "But she can't just keep hiding forever. She'll go crazy out there all alone. If she comes back to town and lets everyone try to help her I think she could keep it under control, you know like grandpa Gold did..."

Regina made a rude sound. Probably gagging on the two successive mentions of 'grandpa' Gold.

"Maybe if we could just _find_ him then we could ask him how he did it?" Henry mused aloud.

"How he did what?" Regina asked, grumpily.

"You know, how he kept the Darkness from murdering us all in our beds."

"I don't think the Darkness _wants_ to kill us Henry. I think it wants to torment us. Some of us anyway." she added.

"Maybe The Apprentice could help us?" Henry's face brightened like a light bulb, "He knew enough about it to get it out of Rumplestiltskin's heart and Rumplestiltskin had been trying to do that for centuries probably!"

"I thought we were waiting for Emma to show up?" Regina changed the subject, "And besides, The Apprentice is still in a coma. I've checked in with Dr. Whale every day on that point."

"I bet I can wake him up." a voice heavy with menace asked from behind the couch.

00EMMA00

A startled nurse ran from The Apprentice's hospital room in terror as Henry and his mothers poofed into the room, right beside the bed.

The Apprentice was hooked up to several monitors, but he appeared to be breathing on his own and according to Dr. Whale, he didn't even need a feeding tube, though how his body was sustaining itself was anybody's guess.

"Magic." Emma guessed, after hearing an update from Regina.

"Most likely." she replied, "But that doesn't help us wake him up."

"Maybe he needs true loves kiss?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Look at him kid. Does he look like he has a sweetheart back home?"

Regina glared a warning at Emma that said, 'be nice he's only a kid!', then she said, "From what little I've been about to find out about him, he's been basically a hermit for at least a hundred years. Probably a lot longer, so I doubt he has any loved ones left to give him True Love's Kiss, Henry."

"Oh... So how do we wake him then?" Henry asked.

"I know where I'd start," said Emma, sweeping all the monitoring equipment away with a single swipe of her arm. The room erupted with alarms, but nobody came to check on the cause.

By now the whole hospital knew who was in The Apprentice's room.

The noise seemed to have no effect on the sleeping man, but the next thing Emma tried did. Without warning she reached into his body and pulled out his heart.

Henry swallowed down a gasp and backed up a step.

Regina just shrugged. It was worth a try.

Emma spoke into the heart, _Wake up_ , she commanded.

The Apprentice sat bolt upright in bed, a somewhat dazed expression on his face.

"Well that was... easier than I thought." said Regina, somewhat annoyed that she hadn't thought to try this earlier.

"Tell me how to get rid of the Dark Curse old man." Emma commanded.

"It cannot be done." The Apprentice's voice came out in a choked whisper.

"Then tell me how to find Rumplestiltskin so that _he_ can tell me how. I'm sure Regina kept the hat..." she looked to Regina for confirmation and received a reluctant nod.

"Rumplestiltskin's way was not the right way, child!" The Apprentice struggled against the crushing pain in his chest, "The hat could never have held The Darkness forever!"

"But it could hold it long enough for us to bury it somewhere?" Emma asked.

"Don't you think if mere _burial_ could've stopped The Darkness that it would've been done long ago?" 

"I don't mean literal burial." Emma rolled her eyes. Literally. It was fun. "I mean that we can use the hat to ... 'suck' the darkness out of me and then jettison it into another realm or something."

"And to which realm would you suggest we send this darkness? Is your personal comfort so important to you, that you would sacrifice an entire realm to The Darkness?"

"Well, it won't be my problem anymore, will it?"

"I see The Darkness has _already_ fed on your soul, Emma Swan!"

Emma blanched as the memory of her encounter with The Darkness flashed before her eyes.

"You must fight it, child!" The Apprentice continued, spurred on by her momentary hesitation. "Every Dark One must fight the darkness within them. It is the only way to keep The Darkness at bay."

"I'm like a walking talking Alcatraz to you! A human prison with a _dagger_ for a warden." Emma accused, adding, "For the first time ever I'm starting to feel sorry for Rumplestiltskin!"

"The Darkness must be contained. Only a human host has the will to do it!"

"And if the host's 'will' fails you have a nice shiny dagger all ready to keep him from doing anything to nasty..."

"A necessary precaution I'm afraid." he admitted, "Not every human ran resist the evil and few can resist it for long."

"Nonsense!" said Regina, "Rumplestiltskin was cursed for centuries and he never..."

"What wiped out an entire village?" Emma offered.

"How did you...?"

Emma tapped her head, "Rumple told me."

"What?!" Regina shouted.

"Oh didn't I tell you? I've been seeing this sort of... 'ghosty' version of Rumplestiltskin. Mostly I think he just pops in to gloat, but now and again he tells me something useful."

Henry's mouth was agape, "But he's been missing for months. Are you telling me he's been in your head the whole time?"

"Not really _in_ my head, kid." Emma corrected Henry, "More like a piece of himself he left behind."

"Or a piece The Darkness TOOK with it when it was forced out." The Apprentice looked grave.

Fighting a sudden urge to squeeze, Emma deliberately loosened her grip and laid the heart on the bed by The Apprentice's feet.

The Apprentice relaxed, even managing a wan smile now that his heart was no longer being crushed. "Rumplestiltskin also had a son to motivate him to hold onto the kernel of goodness within." he said, smiling at Henry, "But beware," his gaze once more fell on Emma, "beware holding on to tightly. Rumplestiltskin's fear of separation from the only person he loved became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the end."

"Yeah," Emma agreed, "Paternal abandonment will do that to you." she added, referencing not only her own childhood, but Rumple's as well." _As least HER father loved her_. Once again Emma found herself feeling sorry for Rumple and she wished he'd show up right now to say something vague and useless so that she could go right back to hating him.

"He became fixated on making deals, especially regarding male children." The Apprentice continued, "It kept The Darkness amused for centuries. Rather remarkable considering he _had_ his own dagger all that time and yet he managed without an outsider's control."

"Rumplestiltskin is a remarkable man." a warmly accented voice spoke from the door.

"Grandma!" Henry cried, running into the woman's arms.

The woman in the door blushed, "Uh, Henry I thought we agreed to that you would call me 'Belle'?"

"Where have you been?!" bellowed Regina.

"Wow, nice to see you too, Regina." Belle replied, throwing Regina a somewhat hostile (you know for Belle) look, "You might be interested to know, Regina, that my husband put a spell over my heart when he returned it to me... you'll find it hard to play that particular 'trick' again."

Henry looked confused, "What do you mean?" he asked Belle. "What trick?"

"Oh it turns out your mother had my heart for months." Belle told him, "My memory is a little fuzzy on the matter, but after comparing a few notes with Will Scarlett, I'm pretty sure I get the gist of it... Regina here," she addressed the room now, not just Henry, "Took my heart without my permission and she used it to turn me against my husband and then when he finally found a way back into town, she used it to torment him with this fiction that I was unfaithful to him with Will Scarlett... How am I doing, Regina?" she asked, staring boldly into her eyes.

Regina's shoulders slumped under Belle's accusation and Henry's earnestly hopeful gaze. "I guess it's not _entirely_ inaccurate." she admitted, slumping further as Henry's face fell.

"I thought you'd changed, mom!"

"I have!" she said, "I was just paying Gold back for... um, I'm not really sure why. I just really really hated the smug bas... 'er ...him."

"Mom, heroes don't seek revenge." Henry reminded her.

"Ok, so maybe I'm not a hero, alright?!"

Belle coughed, "As much as I enjoy seeing Regina squirm," she said, "her _horrid_ behavior isn't as important as defeating The Darkness." she nodded to Emma, "Back to your original question as to where I've been..." Belle raised her voice slightly and called out into the hospital corridor, "You can come in now." she called to her newest friend, then turned back to face The Apprentice. "Mr. Apprentice..." she said, "I believe I've found your Sorcerer..."


	9. Chapter Eight - Home

**Chapter Eight - Home**

Thirty-Five(ish) Years ago in The Enchanted Forest...

Belle hummed an old melody from her childhood as she dusted the Dark One's knickknacks; despite her recent captivity she felt happy here in her Master's house, among his books and his treasures. She might not be able to travel to distant lands or even to leave the dark castle, but she had discovered a deep well within herself for dreaming and his wonderful treasures from across the realms (or his 'things' as he liked to call them) fueled her dreams of adventure and romance to such an extent that she hardly noticed the passage of the days, weeks and months; or that she was hardly a girl any longer as her shortened sleeves and tightened clothing could attest.

If Rumplestiltskin noticed these things, he made no sign of it and Belle herself only noticed in the mornings when she had to struggle to tie up her gown; a struggle she quickly forgot as her mind turned quickly to one adventure or another that she'd read about the night before. What did her snug old dress matter now with no one around to care what she wore?

One morning after reading a thrilling story about the genie of the lamp, she spent several happy hours gathering lamps from around the castle and rubbing them vigorously to see if Ruplestiltskin had a _real_ magic lamp amongst his 'things'. For his part Rumplestiltskin, who was watching his maid that morning as he often did through a small magic mirror, found this rather amusing and he made sure there were more lamps in his house that morning then there ever had been before. The real magic lamps were of course sealed up in his vault, but he wasn't about to let his little maid rub _those_. Genies were far more trouble than they were worth in his opinion.

His amusement faded as he watched Belle climb a tall bookcase in the library to get at an old lamp he'd forgotten about. He could see the old wood straining under her slight weight and as the shelves gave way, he reached through the mirror and pulled her back down to the ground, making sure she landed lightly enough to escape serious injury, but hard enough to teach her a lesson about climbing old bookcases when all she had to do was _ask_ for a ladder in the first place.

Belle sat still on her now bruised backside and watched as the shelves, trinkets and books fell down around her as she sat safely within a protective bubble of some kind that the heavy objects bounced off of; she knew that Rumplestiltskin must have been watching her. Looking at the debris around her Belle felt sick with shame and fear. Shattered knickknacks littered the floor and books lay scattered around the room, many of them now missing pages as the old books' bindings had proven unequal to the strain of being dropping twenty feet onto a hardwood floor. _Why would he save ME and not these beautiful old books?_ she wondered. Perhaps he meant to punish her in some other way for this transgression. He had a very dangerous reputation, as she knew, but she had never known him to be cruel to her. Not especially kind perhaps. But he had given her a pillow.

Slowly Belle rose unsteadily to her feet and began to clean up her mess. Carefully she picked up all the undamaged books and set them aside, then she moved on to the damaged books, gently shaking the shards of broken glass and porcelain from them so that she could read the titles to try and match the piles of ruined books to the loose pages laying all over the room. As she gathered the loose pages, she read them and stacked them into several piles; magic texts, fairytales, histories... suddenly a name on the page she'd been skimming caught her eye, ' _de Ravin' ..._ What was her family's name doing in a book on Rumplestiltskin's book shelf?

Setting the rest of the loose papers she'd gathered aside, Belle read the rest of the page in silence...

 _and also in that year William de Ravin, squire of his majesty's chamber pot, did defeat the usurpers singlehandedly; Bringing peace back to the land. In recompense of which he was made Sir William de Ravin, knight of his majesty's shield and given Flandor castle with all its lands and monies in perpetuity for him and his descendants. For such is the honor the king will bestow on the brave; no matter what their station in life._

 _Sir William de Ravin (portrait on page 91) served his majesty faithfully for forty years until his death at the age of eighty-one. He is buried at Flandor, where his descendants still live to this day._

...following this passage was a family tree which looked all too familiar to Belle, who had seen the same names repeated on her father's wall. Though the story of how her family attained its position in the nobility was new to her. Her father had left her with the impression that her family had been noble forever. Looking at this family tree she realized that they'd only lived at Flandor for about two hundred years from William to Maurice. _Why would he hide this from me?_ she wondered, _It's hardly shameful to come from humble roots, especially with an ancestor as brave as Sir William to began our family dynasty. Why have I never heard this story before?_ Everybody knows about Victor the Great, the wise and mighty king who united the kingdom under one crown, surely he was the king referred to here, the one who made William de Ravin into _Sir_ William _._ Excitedly she searched through the pile of ruined books trying to match the page to the original book so that she could find the portrait of the ancestor she'd never heard of.

"Eureka!" she cried happily as she matched the loose page to the book it had fallen out of, 'A History of Gaul'. Turning to page 91 Belle found the portrait ...William de Ravin had been rather short and a bit portly, but Belle thought she could detect the nobility lurking behind his eyes, _but oh my what funny clothes they wore in those days_! she thought. Belle giggled at the idea of her own father, Sir Maurice, wearing all those ruffles and what a funny looking dagger he was holding; it was all curvy... she stared at the dagger. Somehow she was sure she'd seen it somewhere before...

"Give that back!" growled Rumplestiltskin snatching the book from her hands.

"But..." she pointed to the portrait, "Sir William is my ancestor!" she said.

"I'm well aware of that."

"But I've never even heard of him."

"I'm not surprised."

"Won't you let me read the rest of the story?" she pleaded.

"You won't find another line about 'Sir' William in this book." he twittered, "History books cannot be trusted" he advised," especially when the truth was rather _inconvenient_ to the king."

"You could tell me..." she said quietly.

"You won't like it." he sang.

"I want to know the TRUTH." she said, emphasizing the word, "What did my father hide from me?"

"Oh only that your family's wealth and privilege was won on a great big pile of corpses..."

"What?!"

"Your ancestor, William de _Chamber Pot_... one day he came upon a certain dagger, rather _carelessly_ hidden in a cave near the castle and discovering that the dagger compelled a monster to do his bidding, he used that dagger to defeat all the king's rivals, and by defeat dearie, I mean murder all the king's rivals, which did in a way bring peace to the land, if you don't count all the crying and wailing from the womenfolk who's sons and husband's were mercilessly slaughtered."

"But that's awful!" she cried.

"That's history for you, dearie." he sang, "It's written by the victors you know."

"And you were the monster who killed all those men?"

"Was _compelled_ to kill all those men," he corrected, "Even Rumplestiltskin has his standards."

"Oh you poor man..." Belle reached for his hand.

"I am not a man!" he exploded, pushing away her attempt to hold his hand. "Don't feel sorry for me dearie." he sang, letting the sudden burst of anger drain out of his voice, "Old William may have won his battles, but I think the Dark One won the war."

Belle's forehead creased, "I don't understand." she said.

"Oh dear, and here I thought you were rather clever, for a _maid_..."

"Me?" she gasped, "I'm your revenge?"

He smiled, "I guess you are the clever one after all." he giggled.

"You took me from my father to get revenge for something that happened before he was even born?"

"Wonderful isn't it? Timing, my dear ...is everything."

"But why me? Why am I your revenge..."

"Why because YOU are your father's child... his only child" he added, "and the last remnant of old William's flesh and bone still living."

"So..."

"Now there will be no more de Ravin's left to bother me. After you're gone that is." he giggled again.

"oh." Belle looked down at her shoes feeling very small indeed.

Rumple fought down the tiny wave of compassion he felt for the girl. _It was hardly her fault_ , his suppressed conscience pricked him. Scooping up the broken books and loose pages Rumple moved towards the door, "I'll take care of these." he said, jerking his head towards a broom that was leisurely sweeping its way towards Belle, "You clean up this mess. " he paused, "And be quick about it. I expect my tea to be served at the regular time." The door opened for him and he walked out, slamming it in his wake.

"Oh and dearie..." a disembodied voice spoke through the door, "Get yourself a new dress. That one is looking positively indecent..."

Thirty-Five(ish) Years later

00ZELENA00

Zelena grumbled as she stumbled around her kitchen fixing her husband's supper. Perhaps sending Isaac and Lily away had been a mistake. She'd forgotten how much work it was running a household, especially with a 'husband' who spent nearly his entire day every day sitting at his precious spinning wheel.

The outstanding silhouette she saw reflected in her shining pots and pans told the tale of how close she was to giving birth, a prospect which was becoming more and more annoying to her the more real it all became. _What do I know about being a mother?_ she wondered. _Did I think this would solve all my problems or was I really just getting back at my sister?_ Feeling hot and frustrated, Zelena glanced across the house to see if Rumple was paying any attention at. Nope. As usual he was utterly absorbed in his spinning. She waved her hand and watched as her ingredients rolled themselves into a perfect meat pie and floated into the oven. Now _that_ is how housework should be done.

Feeling cooler already, Zelena checked once more to be sure Rumple wasn't looking, he wasn't; tossing her apron aside, she lifted the trapdoor and walked down into her magical laboratory. On the shelves were dozens of bottles of ingredients that she had collected since they arrived in Oz, as well as a number of magical texts which she'd been scouring for clues in her latest attempt to break magical law by creating True Love's potion. Every witch and fairy she'd talked to (and dispatched) had claimed it was impossible, but she'd heard that before. Everyone said time travel was impossible until she'd done it and wasn't it Rumple himself who had told her 'dead is dead'? Well she'd shown him hadn't she? He might not remember it now, but eventually his memories should return and then... oh dear that could pose a few new problems, couldn't it? Oh, well. She'd just have to make sure she'd cracked true love before Rumple's memories returned and if they did come back before she'd perfected her love potion... Why then she'd just have to _KILL_ him and find a new husband with more muscles and less baggage.

Her baby kicked her and Zelena grimaced. Perhaps Robin Hood hadn't been such a good idea after all. Sure it was fun wrecking Regina's life and all, but he was a very boring man; in every possible sense of the word. But seeing Regina's face when she'd told her about the baby had made it all worthwhile... She paused mid-stir in her latest love potion attempt (nearly ready to be poured over Rumple's meatpie; she did hope there'd be no nasty side-effects this time) when she heard a sudden thump from above. Cursing whichever munchkin had had the gall to enter the witch's home uninvited Zelena began to climb the stairs back to her kitchen... but when she got to the top she found that the door wouldn't budge.

00BELLE00

Belle held tight to Merlin's robe as the pair flew through the darkness with only the stars to guide them. Belle hoped they would be able to find Rumple in time; it had taken Merlin nearly a week to gather the fairy dust and other things he said were necessary for their trip. Locating Rumple had proved simple as the witches guild was all atwitter with the news of Zelena's return to Oz, as well as her having taking up residence in her old home instead of in the wizard's palace in the Emerald City. Merlin had warned her that time passed differently in many realms so she could only hope that Rumple was still alive and well; even if he _did_ still believe her to be the witch who murdered his son.

Will had asked to be dropped off in Wonderland as he had business to see to there and although she hated to waste the time, Belle was happy to see him go and she wished him well in reuniting with his love.

While she'd had to wait for Merlin to gather supplies for their journey, Belle had had time to read through some of Merlin's magical texts to try and find a solution to her husband's memory loss, with little success. The only spell Merlin or his books knew that might break through whatever was blocking her husband's memory was of course True Love's Kiss, but how could that work if Rumple no longer loved her? Oh, if she could only get his memories back for him so that she could tell him how Regina had used her heart against them both and how she'd never stopped loving him in her heart...

Merlin's shout interrupted her thoughts, "There it is!" he yelled against the oncoming wind, "OZ!" he pointed to a misty green spot that had appeared out of the darkness. "Fifth star to the left and strait on until morning!" Merlin yelled as they flew downward into the green mist.

00Rumple00

Rumple's hands shook, making it nearly impossible to spin. He had a clear sense that something was happening, but he didn't know what. The visions had gotten no clearer as time passed; if he spun fast enough it seemed that he could almost make sense out of the shadows that flitted around in his mind, but as soon as the spinning stopped, it all returned to murk. His wife had told him that he'd found his son, but that he was dead now. But he didn't remember any of that anymore than he remembered this wife, with her sour face and skinny arse.

He heard a soft step coming towards him; he looked up. "Belle!" he cried jumping to his feet as he saw the woman approach. _He sat back down heavily and shook his head, why had he just said that?_

"You remember me?!" the woman exclaimed, coming nearer, her voice full of hope.

"No, I... who _are_ you?" he stammered.

"I'm _your_ Belle." she said, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. "I'm your wife."

"No no, you're not my wife. My wife is in the kitchen making my supper... ZELENA!" He called, "We have guests dear, and my head... it aches so." Belle moved closer and Rumple backed away slamming into the wall in his haste to get away.

"Shhhh" belle shushed him, reaching out her trembling hand to grasp his. "I know you don't remember me." she whispered pulling him closer, "I know that your mind is full of images you can't understand and faces you can't place, but I _am_ your wife. Your true wife, that other woman, _Zelena,_ is a wicked witch and she has enchanted you to keep you like this in revenge for you not choosing her when you had the chance..."

"I don't remember..." his voice was husky now and his hands had stopped shaking as the soft woman drew him close.

"You don't remember me," she said, "But you heart does. See you've stopped trembling. It knows where it belongs, right next to mine; heart to heart..." she pressed her chest against his, "Hand to hand," she put her fingers through his, "Lips to lips..." Belle leaned in and kissed him and as soon as her lips touched his, the world became clear again. In an instant Rumple remembered everything! Becoming the Dark One, losing Baelfire, the centuries of loneliness, meeting Belle, the curse, finding Belle again, losing Baelfire again and he remembered, HE REMEMBERED Zelena.

Rumple broke the kiss. "Where is she?" he asked.

"In the cellar; Merlin put the oven over the trapdoor so that she couldn't get out."

Rumple kissed Belle this time, both of them trying to somehow make up for the time they'd lost, "She still has her magic." he reminded her, knowing they had to act now, but not wanting to let go of her hand, "She'll just poof herself out of that cellar as soon as she realizes that something is wrong."

Belle pulled at his hand, "Then we have to go, NOW."

Before they could reach the door, it vanished and the re-united couple slammed into a solid wall.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" a haughty voice called from the ceiling.

Rumple and Belle clutched each other tightly as Zelena flew down from the rafters on her broomstick.

"Well well well." she said, approaching the pair and hopping off her broom, "It seems like True Love's Kiss won the day once again. Too bad you two will spend the rest of your lives together as TOADS!" Victoriously Zelena raised her arms to strike, completely oblivious to the old man creeping up behind her with a large frying pan.

THWACK!

"Quickly children, quickly!" he said motioning for them to step over Zelena's unconscious body and follow him. "I see true love remains the greatest magic in the realms." He said, smiling broadly at them, "But no time just now for any of that. We have a great Darkness to defeat and a witch to escape from." He moved towards the kitchen door, intending to fly them all away as swiftly as possible.

"No wait." Rumple said, "We can't just leave her here. She has a sack full of magic beans and one heck of a grudge against Belle and I, and after that crack on her head I doubt she'll be very fond of you either. We have to (he gulped) kill her."

"Rumple no!" Belle cried, "There has to be another way. Besides, _she's pregnant_!"

Rumple rubbed his forehead, trying to decide what to do. Morals had always seemed a rather ambiguous concept to him before, but without the darkness inside him, he suddenly found himself agreeing with Belle that killing Zelena would be wrong.

Merlin seemed to understand and together they searched the house until they found Pan's bracelet, for as Merlin said, _'Witches never throw away_ magic'. They snapped the bracelet back onto her wrist once again and Rumple tied her hands together. Then hoisting her on his back Rumple carried the witch outside and the three of them held hands as Merlin threw the fairy dust on them and reminded them to think happy thoughts. For Belle and Rumple that wouldn't be a problem today.

00O00

 _...The Apprentice continued, "It kept The Darkness amused for centuries. Rather remarkable considering he had his own dagger all that time and yet he managed without an outsider's control."_

"Rumplestiltskin is a remarkable man." Belle said as she entered The Apprentice's hospital room.

"Grandma!" Henry cried, running into her arms.

Belle blushed, "Uh, Henry I thought we agreed to that you would call me 'Belle'?"

"Where have you been?!" bellowed Regina.

"Wow, nice to see you too, Regina." Belle replied, throwing Regina a deservedly hostile look, "You might be interested to know Regina that my husband put a spell over my heart when he returned it to me... you'll find it hard to play that particular 'trick' again."

Henry looked confused, "What do you mean?" he asked Belle. "What trick?"

"Oh it turns out your mother had my heart for months." Belle told him, "My memory is a little fuzzy on the matter, but after comparing a few notes with Will Scarlett, I'm pretty sure I get the gist of it... Regina here," she addressed the room now, not just Henry, "Took my heart without my permission and she used it to turn me against my husband and then when he finally found a way back into town, she used it to torment him with this _fiction_ that I was unfaithful to him with Will Scarlett... How am I doing, Regina?" she asked, staring boldly into her eyes.

Regina's shoulders slumped under Belle's accusation and Henry's earnestly hopeful gaze. "I guess it's not _entirely_ inaccurate." she admitted, slumping further as Henry's face fell.

"I thought you'd changed, mom!"

"I have!" she said, "I was just paying Gold back for... um, I'm not really sure why. I just really really hated the smug bas... 'er ...him."

"Mom, heroes don't seek revenge." Henry reminded her.

"Ok, so maybe I'm not a hero, alright?!"

Belle coughed, "As much as I enjoy seeing Regina squirm," she said, "her _horrid_ behavior isn't as important as defeating The Darkness." she nodded to Emma, "Back to your original question as to where I've been..." Belle raised her voice slightly and called out into the hospital corridor, "You can come in now." she called to her newest friend, then turned back to face The Apprentice. "Mr. Apprentice..." she said, "I believe I've found your Sorcerer..."

Merlin entered to little fanfare, but then, all they saw was an old frail looking man. The Apprentice tried to rise so that he, the only person here who knew the true greatness of the wizard Merlin could show him the proper respect.

"Rest rest, my friend," Merlin said, crossing to the bed to greet his apprentice. "You'll have great need of your rest ere long." Merlin touched his apprentice's shoulder and a brief warm glow circled the bed. The Apprentice lay back against his pillows and sighed, "Thank you Master. I feel so much better now."

"Good good. Now, what say you introduce me to the new Dark One here? I understand she's having rather a bad time of it."

"Um," Belle interrupted, "while you guys get acquainted I think I'll just slip out and see how Rumple is getting along with the 'er... _other matter_."

Belle turned to leave, Emma stopped her.

"What other matter?" she asked, "And did you just say that Gold was back?"

"Yes he's back," Belle said, answering the second question first, "Merlin and I kind of rescued him from Zelena this morning."

"My sister is back too?" Regina did not sound happy.

Belle nodded.

"Great." Regina mumbled, "Just great."

"Sure is." said Belle sweetly, "But I'm afraid my husband had to take her to see Dr. Whale..." Belle paused, unable to help herself from enjoying this part, "...her water broke somewhere over Canada. She's in labor..."

00O00

Author's note - I really love the Rumbelle story at the top of the chapter so much that I think I might publish it separately for the Rumbelle fans who don't want to slog through the rest of this story to get to a good Rumbelle ficlet. I think that would be ok wouldn't it?


	10. Chapter Nine - Seizure

**Chapter Nine - Seizure**

"Be sure you make the straps nice and tight now." Rumple repeated his instructions to the nurse as an amused Doctor Whale looked on.

"I know the baby trade must be pretty lucrative for you, Gold... but don't you think the restraints are a bit much? She's hardly in a state to run away..."

Gold ignored him and turned to the nurse fastening the straps, "Tighter." he commanded.

Whale shrugged, "I don't suppose you'd care to comment on the fact that my patient in addition to her obvious condition; is also concussed? I thought you were a deal maker, not a skull breaker..."

Rumple pointed an accusing finger at Whale's patient, "This is Zelena: The Wicked Witch and trust me... she more dangerous than you might think."

"She's barely conscious!" Whale scoffed, adding, "And _trust_ YOU? You've got to be kidding, right?"

The nurse had finished strapping Zelena to the bed and he asked if he needed anything else, "Yes," said Rumple, "Call Sheriff..." he blinked, turning to Whale, "Just who is the Sheriff these days?"

"David Nolan."

"Right." he turned back to the nurse and told him, "Call Sheriff _Charming_ and tell him to get down here to guard the prisoner. He I trust..." he said looking back at Whale, "...remembers just how dangerous this woman is."

Doctor Whale just rolled his eyes.

00O00

Regina had commandeered the hospital waiting room and was now convening a council of war;

"Alright" Regina began, "I call this meeting of the Storybrook Emergency Council of Calamity to order. Opening business; what do we do with Zelena once she gives birth?" Any suggestions?"

Snow White raised her free hand while deftly shifting baby Neal to her hip, "Maybe this child is just what she needs. Zelena has always felt unloved, and a baby is really just a big bundle of unconditional love." She looked down at Neal and smiled beatifically.

Regina shook her head, "We can't trust her with a baby. It just isn't safe."

"Well I don't want to get too personal Regina, but it seems to me that having a baby really changed _you_." Snow said, "You haven't been nearly as evil since you had Henry." Snow smiled at her grandson, who smiled back.

Belle raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss French, you have a question?"

"Firstly," said Belle, "It's _Mrs. Gold_ ; and I do have a question..." she turned to David, "Why is she in charge here?!" once again she was forced to repeat her story of Regina's abuse of her and of Rumple.

"These are some very serious charges, Regina." said David, looking a bit unsure on how to proceed.

"That's pretty low, sister." said Grumpy, giving Regina a glare. "And to _Belle_ of all people," he smiled at the Storybrook librarian and then glared at Regina again, "She's like the nicest person in town!"

"Yeah." the other dwarves chimed in.

David turned to Belle, "Would you like proffer changes against Regina?"

"Yes I would." she nodded, "She shouldn't be allowed to get away with this sort of thing anymore."

Nervously David started to fiddle with the handcuffs attached to his belt.

"You're not seriously contemplating arresting me?!" Regina sneered dismissively.

"It's a very serious charge Regina."

"And just what are you planning on charging me with?" she asked, "I'm pretty sure heart napping isn't even in the local statutes."

David chewed his lower lip, "I think kidnapping and false imprisonment would do in a pinch, don't you honey?" he turned to his wife.

"I think all of this can wait until later!" Snow said, sounding frustrated, "That's what I think." she looked at her daughter who was standing against the wall trying not to alarm anyone. She turned to Regina, "Shame on you Regina." she said, "I really thought you'd changed... but with all due respect to Belle," she nodded to Belle, who shrugged, "I think both Regina and Zelena can wait for now, because right now the most important thing is to get the darkness out of my daughter." The group turned to look at Merlin who was currently gazing longingly at the coffee machine.

Following his gaze, Belle asked him, "Would you like another cup?"

"He's had six already." said Grumpy, pointing at the machine. "How much more do you think a _twelve hundred_ year old bladder can take?"

"Twelve hundred?" Merlin commented, "I _wish_ I was still as spry now as I was at _twelve hundred_. Pfft."

"Please," Snow said, "I'll get you all the coffee you can ever drink if you'll just help us save our daughter."

Merlin smiled and patted Snow's hand, "Don't worry so child." he said, "The situation is grave to be sure, but there is something we can try... Now, is young Gold back yet?" he asked, looking around the assembly, "I asked him to run a few errands for me..."

Before Grumpy had the chance to comment on the bizarre designation of 'young Gold' for Rumplestiltskin; Rumple strode through the door and went to stand by his wife.

"Did you bring it?" Merlin asked, setting the empty coffee sup aside.

"Aye, I have it right here..." Rumple's hand moved towards his jacket to retrieve Merlin's requested item, but stopped short when he noticed that David was in the room. "Why aren't you watching Zelena?!" he exclaimed.

"It's ok, Gold." said David soothingly, "The delivery went well, a healthy baby girl 6 pounds 9 ounces, and they're BOTH fast asleep; Nothing to worry about."

A scream tore through the building.

Rumple sighed; "You were saying..." he looked at David.

Snow gasped, "I think that sounded like Dr. Whale!"

Regina raised a sculpted eyebrow, "And you would know how Whale sounds when he screams because?"

"Hey we were cursed!" Snow cried, as the group began to stream towards Zelena's delivery room.

00O00

David knelt beside Dr. Whale and shook his head, "He's dead."

Snow White blanched, "How did she even get a weapon?" she asked, turning away from the bloody remains.

Emma looked at the instrument tray, "Looks to me like Whale got careless and left a scalpel behind."

Rumple looked grave, "I warned him." he didn't know what else to say.

Snow held baby Neal tight, "Just how dangerous is she?" she asked.

Rumple shrugged, "She's still wearing Pan's bracelet," he reminded them, "So she won't be able to perform any magic."

"That didn't save Whale." quipped Regina.

"Guys," said Charming, "Where is the baby?"

Slowly Belle pulled off the blanket which was hanging over the bassinet... the baby was gone!


	11. Chapter Ten - Malice

**Chapter Ten - Malice**

"Of course she took the baby." Snow cuddled her own child closer, "She's her mother."

"She's also a murderer." Charming reminded her.

"That's not all she is." said Rumple, holding up an all too familiar bracelet, now covered in blood.

Snow gasped, "Oh my gosh! Not all this blood is Whale's."

"It seems that Zelena has escaped. Again."

"Of course," said Belle, "She cut off her own arm again to get out of the bracelet."

"I did warn Whale to keep her strapped down." said Rumple crossing his arms.

Regina glowered, "Yes well, I'm sure the good doctor's last thoughts were of you and your warning; 'Oh if I'd only listened to Rumple! gurgle gurgle gurgle...as he drowned in his own blood."

"Regina, please!" Snow cried, placing her hand over her mouth, presumably to hold back the forthcoming vomit.

"What's the matter dear? Having a hard time seeing your boyfriend filleted?" Regina asked.

Snow dropped her hand long enough to retort, "Whale was not my boyfriend! We were cursed!"

Belle looked from Snow to Regina, "What is it with you forcing women you hate to date other men?" she demanded, thinking Snow _must've_ had her heart her taken out by Regina at some point too if she'd gone on a date with _Doctor Whale_ of all people.

"I had nothing to do with her and Whale, thank you very much." Regina said, trying her best to look self-righteous, while Snow frowned, but finally won her inner struggle not to bring up Catherine and how Regina tried to force David into her arms, which was why Snow got tangled up with Whale in the first place. "Regina... we need to have a talk later." she said instead but Regina was having none of it, "Oh please." she said to Snow, "It's not like your hands are clean as ...snow." Regina remembered what Snow had told her about Malificient's daughter; not to mention her _own_ mother's (Cora's) death. Emma cut off Snow's retort that Regina had killed _her_ father (Leopold), "Hey none of us have clean hands in this room." she said, unintentionally waving the dark dagger in everyone's faces.

Belle coughed.

Emma looked at her, "Oh come on Belle, there has to be something..."

"She never even returned a library book late." said Rumple giving Regina a bold dark look.

Belle smiled a bit sheepishly, "oh, I might've returned a few books late." she admitted, "But I _was_ a princess at the time and they tend to overlook rules like that for princesses." she looked to Snow who nodded, while all the non princesses in the room rolled their eyes.

Snow patted Emma's arm, "You're a princess too, Emma." she reminded her daughter.

"Yes yes and _I_ was a _queen_." Regina reminded them, "So listen to your sovereign and focus on the real problem at hand. We have to find Zelena!" she turned to Rumple, "Can you still do magic or has being ordinary again wiped out all those centuries of study?"

Rumple gulped and looked at Belle, then back to Regina, "I um, seem to have lost some of my magical _oomph_ of late."

Belle went to him and held his hand, "You tried?" she asked, he wasn't sure if her tone was sad that he still wanted magic at some level or sad that he'd lost his power. "Yes." he admitted, "a few small spells just to see if I had any magic left in me now that I'm... well, me again. All failed."

Belle leaned into his arm and smiled up at him reassuringly, "I love you no matter what." she said, clasping his arm.

Regina rolled her eyes again, "Oh how very touching. Too bad that means we're short one magic user going up against my sister who happens to be the most powerful witch in all the realms."

Emma, Snow, Charming, Hook, Grumpy and Regina looked down, each trying to come up with a plan when Merlin offered, "Have you tried using white magic, my child?" he asked, looking at Rumplestiltskin.

Rumple looked uncomfortable saying, "I'm afraid I haven't had a lot of experience with 'white' magic. Rather avoided it, actually."

"It's very simple my child." Merlin's voice was rich and soothing despite the rattle of great age that sometimes broke through the rich tones, "You simply replace the hatred and the fear that fueled the dark magic with love and peace..."

"Oh is that all." Regina grumbled. Rumple looked down at his hands, disbelieving that these same hands could work light magic instead of dark.

Snow nudged Regina and whispered, "Help him, Regina. You've been able to do light magic from time to time. Give him some pointers..." Rumple and Regina both grumbled at this idea. "Could you two stop feuding long enough to save the town from Zelena please?!" Emma asked, exasperated.

Rumple shoved his hand in his pockets, he turned to Regina, "I guess I could use a few tips. Given the severity of the situation..."

"What was that?" Regina asked, cupping a hand to her ear.

Rumple flushed, " _Please_." he said, feeling like the word would choke him.

"Oh the delicious irony!" she exclaimed, grinning widely, "The great Rrrruuuumplestiltskin needing magic lessons from me."

"Regina Please!" Snow exclaimed, "Just do it! Zelena already has a head start on us, do you really want to risk letting her wander free all night?"

"Hey," interjected Grumpy, "she's got a newborn now right? Maybe she'll just leave town."

"That's a good point." said Belle, "She may not be bent on evil deeds now that she has her child to think of."

"She just filleted Whale!" Regina reminded them.

"That was could've just been so that she could escape." said Charming, "And after all Whale _did_ have a history of making ... _questionable_ comments towards women."

"So what, now we're saying it was justifiable homicide because Whale might've called her _Honey_?" Regina threw up her hands in disgust.

"ENOUGH!" said Emma brandishing the dagger, "YOU," she turned to Regina and Merlin, "Help Gold get his magic mojo back. " she turned to Grumpy and Henry, "YOU go and round up the dwarves, the merry men and whoever else you can find to help us search for Regina." she turned to her parents, "And you two need to start thinking about where Zelena might go first. We have to find her. The rest of own issues can wait." Regina must've agreed because she headed for the door, she didn't look happy to be assigned to Rumple's team, but she was willing to go nonetheless.

"Regina, wait." quickly before she could change her mind again Emma handed over the dagger, closing her eyes tightly as it left her hand, trying her best to shut out the shadow's shrill scream not to do it. "Maybe you better take this back. In case I can't control my dark urges." Regina flinched, remembering Robin's death and forcing down a deep urge for revenge. "OK, Swan." was all she said as she continued out the door."Are you coming?" she called over her shoulder to Rumple, not bothering to wait and see if he was following her. Rumple kissed Belle and warned her to be careful before he left with Merlin to follow Regina. Grumpy and Henry left too; promising to gather the troops.

Emma's bloodshot gaze drilled into her mother, who jiggled baby Neal absently as she thought. "Zelena has a newborn, but she can't leave the town because of the barrier and she can't open a portal without magic beans or a magic door or..."

"Jefferson's hat?" offered Charming.

"Let's just assume that the witch can't get her hands on any such item immediately." said Hook, "Where would she go?"

"Well she would probably be tired after giving birth..."

Charming shook his head at Snow, "I really don't think a witch who can cut off her own hand and reattach it has to worry too much about recovering from childbirth."

"You're right; she almost certainly just used magic to heal herself afterwards." Snow agreed with her husband, "You probably can't even tell she was ever pregnant now. Gosh I hate her."

"Snow!"

"Sorry."

Hook moved slightly away from the Charmings and said, "If she wants to flee and can't, than I would suggest that Zelena might go looking for a way out of town and since the only way out of Storybrook is through magic..."

"Gold's shop/Rumple's shop" Emma and Belle said in unison.

00O00

Humming happily Zelena suspended the unicorn mobile over her daughter's bassinet and smiled down at the enfant who gurgled contentedly back at her mother.

"Hmmm" Zelena murmured, "I guess now that you're here I should give you a name." she said, idly ticking her daughter's chin. "Aravis?" she ventured.

The baby yawned.

"Buttercup?"

"Callisto?"

"Drizella?"

The baby closed her eyes.

"Esmeralda?"

"Fiona?"

"Giselle?"

The baby opened one bleary eye.

"Hera?"

"Iphigenia?"

"Jasmine?"

The baby turned her head.

"Kiara?"

"Lady?"

"Merid...?"

The bell over the pawn shop door jangled; Zelena looked up to see her associates Lily and Isaac coming back from their fact-finding mission.

"How nice of you to come back." Zelena said acidly.

"Didn't sound like we had a choice," commented Isaac as he plunked his bag on the counter.

"Of course you did," said Zelena, "You had the choice of living or dying and I see you choose living... congratulations."

Lily coughed, and nodded towards the door which opened to admit Maleficent.

"Oh and you brought your mother, how sweet."

Maleficent leaned her staff against the doorframe and spoke to Zelena, "I have no quarrel with you Zelena... however; I would like you to please leave my daughter alone."

"Afraid I con't do that until I'm satisfied that _my_ daughter and I are safe. I'm sure you know how I feel..."

Maleficent did at that. "How can I help you?" she asked.

Zelena grinned and motioned for Isaac, Lily and Maleficent to lean in closer, "I have a plan." she said still grinning from ear to ear, "And it's very wicked..."

00O00

Rumple stood in the center of the room his face a mask of intense concentration as he strained to force some magic out of his fingers. "O thank God." he muttered weakly as the candle finally flickered into flame.

"Very good my child!" Merlin praised him, "You're nearly there..."

"Pfft" Regina snorted, "He nearly gave himself a coronary lighting a candle I hardly think he's a match for my sister."

"Don't be so negative child." Merlin chided her, (Regina wondering if the old fool simply really couldn't remember any of their names or if he just couldn't be bothered to learn them in the first place), "He needn't be trained in spells or sorcery, he knows all these things already." Merlin continue, "It only remains that he learn to channel his power through the lens of love and kindness to oppose the green witch's darkness and thanks to my apprentice's work, his heart has been cleansed of all darkness meaning the light has opportunity here to take him over completely in a way no other man could hope to achieve no matter how honorable a life he has led."

"Great. He carries a dark curse for centuries and ends up pure in heart; I burn down one or two _little_ villages and mine is a useless lump of coal."

"Stop yer grousing Regina" Rumple said, "I need to focus on good thoughts and your presence is quite frankly less helpful than Emma may have expected." The candle sputtered a bit and went out. Rumple glared at Regina. Maybe the new Dark One was trying to sabotage their plans after all. No sane person would pick Regina to teach him light magic. Not with their history.

In a bizarre effort at reconciliation Merlin offered to tell them about the time his student turned him into a tree. No one found this helpful.

Silently Belle sidled up to her husband and squeezed his hand. Quite suddenly the candle flared to life again. As did a corner of Regina's coat. Rumple suppressed a smile as Regina ripped off her jacket and stomped on it to kill the flames.

"This will never do child." Merlin chided Rumple, "You must not waiver from the light lest you give darkness purchase in your soul once more. Let your conscience guide you." Rumple looked down at Belle and sighed ruefully, "It's difficult to hear your conscience when you've spent centuries trying to suppress it." Belle shook his arm gently, "Don't despair Rumple." she said, " _I_ know your conscience is still in there. I saw it in action several times here in Storybrook and even a couple times in The Enchanted Forest; or have you forgotten sparing Robin Hood's life so long ago?"

"I havna forgotten Belle, but how can I break the bad habits of a lifetime in one afternoon? Belle... I'm afraid that if I face Zelena that I'll turn coward and run again or worse..."

"Worse?" she prompted, "Zelena murdered my son. I hate her so much that I'm afraid that if I don't run, I'll still manage to ruin everything with my hatred of Zelena.

In the end it was The Apprentice who came up with the winning idea which he whispered as a suggestion into Merlin's ear. The ancient wizard smiled and raised his wand...

00O00

Night fell as Snow, Emma, Charming and Regina (with dagger in hand), walked down Main Street towards Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop a puff of green smoke heralded Zelena's arrival. "You needn't bother with your pathetic search any longer." she said, rolling up one stylish green sleeve to show off her now bare wrist, "I have no need to hide..." she smiled, "...but maybe you should." Grinning she cast a wave of green fire down Main Street; lighting every lamp with a sickly green glow in the fading light of dusk.

Regina wasn't impressed, "Candle magic? What are you five?"

"Atmosphere _dear_ sister." chided Zelena, "How can I enjoy killing you all if I can't see your faces properly?"

"Zelena where is the baby?" Snow asked, motherly concern in her voice for the missing babe. "Don't fuss I left her with Maleficent. I trust your conscience won't allow you to steal _another_ baby from her." Snow's face flushed red.

"Give it up Zelena." said Regina, nonchalantly tapping the dark dagger on her hip, "Evil never wins."

"Ah, but wicked DOES!" Zelena replied, raising her arm to signal her compatriots Isaac and Lily to come forward. Isaac came out of the shadows holding Hook at gunpoint. " _Killian_..." Emma whispered. Then Lily emerged shoving Henry in front of her. "Henry no!" Emma cried, rushing towards her son. Lily tightened her grip on Henry's collar as she raised the gun she'd been holding to his back into full view by aiming it at his head. Regina's grip tightened on the dagger; Emma exploded into hot fury, "GIVE ME MY SON!" she demanded. Lily cocked the gun. Regina gripped the dagger tight. She couldn't risk that gun going off if Emma attacked.

Emma raised her hands; red fireballs began to form in each upturned palm. "Emma no!" said Regina, tugging Emma back with the dagger, "We can't risk it."

"Risk what? Even if Lily's trigger finger IS faster than my magic I can still heal Henry." she raised her hands again. Regina lowered them using the dagger. "You can't heal him if he's dead." she reminded Emma.

"You know she's right." a voice said over her shoulder, "Dead is dead." she turned to see the shadow of Rumplestiltskin had returned in all its scaly glory. "Primary rule of magic dearie... dead is dead and all that, but we're faster than any bullet aren't we dearie?" The shade looked at Lily, "Kill her." it ordered Emma, "Kill them ALL. The boy will be fine. We're the Dark One. We don't negotiate with _terrorists_."

"I'm not killing anyone!" Emma spat into the empty space where the shadow stood.

"Emma" Snow's voice trembled as she spoke, "Who are you talking too?" Regina narrowed her eyes following Emma's gaze into nothingness, "I think Gold is talking to her again." she said. "What?" said the Charmings' in adorable unison. "She's been seeing some sort of ...shadow figure representing the darkness inside of her, usually in the form of Rumplestiltskin." Regina clarified.

Shadow Rumple leaned in to whisper in Emma's ear, "Well I _am_ the only dark host you knew."

"Whatever he's saying to you Emma..." Regina cautioned, "Don't listen!" Shadow Rumple placed his hand over his heart, feigning hurt feelings. Growing tired of this dialogue that didn't include her Zelena waved her arms, "Um, heelllooo, wicked witch of the west here. I'm threatening to kill all of your loved ones unless you let me and my child escape back to Oz." ...'ahem' Isaac coughed, "Oh yeah and them too," she indicated her associates. "They're coming with me."

"Actually" said Lily, "I think Isaac and I would prefer just leaving town. "And money." interjected Isaac, "Lots of money. Starting over is expensive." Lily nodded, adding, "Mom will come with us and we can start over somewhere far away from magic and dark ones and baby napping ' _heroes_ '.

"No." said Regina firmly, ignoring Lily and Isaac's pointless presence, "You're not taking Robin's child to Oz with _you_."

"Why not?" Zelena asked, "Her father _is_ dead after all..." she winked at Emma, "Thanks for that, 'Dark One'. I really appreciate your help." she smiled. "You're NOT getting the baby!" Regina growled, refusing to be baited about Robin, "You're what we in this realm call, 'an unfit parent'."

" _I'm_ unfit?" shouted Zelena, "What about YOU sister dear? Did you happen to mention to the adoption agency that you were _The Evil Queen_ when you picked up Henry?" Regina shrugged, "I'd changed. You haven't."

"Had you?" Zelena asked, "From what I've heard it sure sounds like you haven't changed _yet_."

"Taking Belle's heart was a mistake!" Regina wailed, "I was unhappy and I took it out on her. But she's _fine_. And I really wish she'd stop squawking about it. SHE got her husband back and that's more than I'll ever have now!"

"Trust me sister you're better off without that man... The hours I had to spend listening to his boring bandit stories." Zelena groaned, "Not to mention the reality TV he made me watch. I mean if a show is called Survivor, I expect someone to die at some point and yet they just keep..."

"How dare you speak of Robin Hood that way! He loved me! Not you. Me! He only left with you because he thought you were Marion and you let him believe you were sick and his honor demanded..."

"Oh gosh not 'the honor' talk again. I thought I was through with that when your friend there ran him through."

"He was sick inside to think he'd been sleeping with you all that time. SICK."

"He seemed pretty happy with his bargain at the time." she indicated her recently occupied stomach.

"Happy? You practically raped him."

Zelena snorted, "Oh he was more than willing and what about this Sheriff Graham Mary Margaret told me about back when I was her..." she giggled, "'midwife'... I'm told he died of a 'heart attack'?" she laughed as the color drained out of Regina's face. "I happen to know for a fact, _dear_ sister that your huntsman could never have died from what this world calls a heart 'attack' because YOU kept the dear huntsman's heart in a case on your night table. Very convenient that," she remarked, "especially on those loooong cold winter evenings back in The Enchanted Forest..."

"You watched us? How? Why? How dare you!"

"The Wizard had a lovely toy back in Oz that let me check in on you whenever I liked. What a bad girl you were, Regina." Emma stared at Regina, "Did you really murder graham?" she asked. Regina turned her face away and nodded. Emma's jaw tightened. "This has all been a lark and all." Zelena said, gleefully, "But as much fun as it is to expose my sister as a fraud... I really must insist we return to the matter at hand."

"What exactly do you want, Zelena?" asked Charming.

"All I wanted was my child. A family of my own! And you all, 'the great heroes' just couldn't allow me that chance. Why couldn't you just leave me in OZ!"

"Because your 'family' wasn't real, Zelena." said Belle stepping from the shadows with her Rumple at her side. "First you stole Marion's life and _her_ husband and then when that went sour, you took mine!"

"Well believe me I got no joy out of _him_." Zelena said glaring at Rumple, "You were a lot more fun back in The Enchanted Forest."

Rumple smiled, "Glad to see you've finally lost that fatal attraction you had for me." he turned to Belle, "You know I was actually going to have _her_ cast the dark curse to bring us all to this world... until I realized that she was in love with me. If you recall the price for that particular curse was the heart of the thing you love most and since to _Zelena_ that was now..." he chuckled, " _Me_. I had to go back to my original plan and have Regina cast it." Regina glared at him. "See." he said to Belle, "No love there."

"If you recall I could've taken you strait to your son if you'd only confided in me." Zelena reminded him of the silver slippers she'd gotten from The Wizard of Oz.

"I was the greatest magician in all the realms, dearie. Not a mind reader."

"Enough of this!" Zelena shouted. "Either bring me the sack of magic beans and enough gold to satisfy my minions or I will kill a hostage."

"Now you want the _whole_ sack of beans? What happened to your one way trip to your dear old home in Oz?"

"Insurance." Zelena replied looking directly at Regina, "In case you try to follow me."

"I'm not following you anywhere because you're not leaving."

"Regina..." Snow pleaded, "Please, just let her keep her baby. It's not right to separate a mother from her child." she looked up at Charming, "Trust us we know."

"She's not taking Robin Hood's child!" said Regina through clenched teeth.

"She's her child too Regina."

"No."

"Fine." Zelena said, "Than pick one." she waved at Isaac and Lily to bring the hostages closer, "Pick one to die!" Hook's gaze locked directly into Emma's, "Pick me." he mouthed the words clearly, but Emma pretended she hadn't seen. "Take me instead." Emma said, "My life... my power for them. As The Dark One no one will be able to touch you and I'll even tell you where Gold hid the magic beans. You can leave Zelena. Go anywhere you wish and never come back."

"Well that's an interesting offer indeed, tired of life as The Dark One already have you, 'savior'. Though to be honest I've had my eye on The Dark One's power for ages. I just couldn't quite bring myself to kill Rumple and strangely enough I don't seem to have the same problem with you." she grinned, "You have a deal savior."

"No!" shouted Regina, "You're not taking Emma's power either." She held up the Dark Dagger, "Because to do it you'll need this and there is no way in hell I'm going to give it to YOU!"

"No way, sister?"Zelena pulled a sharp knife out of thin air and turned to Lily, "Bring me the boy!" Lily shoved Henry at Zelena and went to stand with Isaac who still held Hook at gunpoint. Zelena wrapped her arm around Henry and place the tip of her blade against his throat. "Don't test me Regina." she warned, digging her blade a little deeper into Henry's neck, "I recently gave birth if you'll recall and I might just be feeling a little wobbly... oops." Henry cried out as a tiny drop of blood flowed down Zelena's blade. "...I do hope I don't slip."

"Zelena..." Henry's voice was pleading.

"Aunt Zelena to you mister." she replied, keeping her blade tight against her nephew's throat. She looked at Regina and smile, "Oh dear me, I feel my hand starting to shake..."

Regina's anger was great and her glare fierce, "Well I'm truly sorry you're feeling poorly sister dear. You know it's such a shame that you SHANKED the only doctor in Storybrook this afternoon!"

"Is this going to take all night?" Zelena inquired. "Just give me what I want and I spare your son's life. Why on Earth are you hesitating? The Dark One _volunteered_ to die and I'm happy to oblige. Just give me the knife, the gold and my beans and I'll be more than happy to leave town."

Rumple limped forward to stand beside Emma, "I don't think so." he said.

Zelena nearly snorted with laughter, "You have _got_ to be kidding me. What exactly are you going to do to stop me... _spinner_."

"I may be human again, Zelena. But I still have magic in my blood and without the darkness polluting it with every beat of my heart..." he paused and stared into space, as if he was listening to something they couldn't hear, "I might even be a match for you."

"Well this is quite a change." said Zelena, "The coward has finally grown a spine I see. Too bad courage is no match for magic."

Rumple ignored Zelena and continued to listen to the voice in _his_ head. "Don't listen to her papa!" the shadow of Baelfire said to his father. "You CAN change if you want to. Remember how much you loved me and let go of your hatred. It's the only way papa."

"Oh good grief what are YOU doing here?" Shadow Rumplestiltskin asked.

"I'm here to remind my pap of who he really is... a hero. Merlin drew me out of his mind and made it so we could speak to one another again."

"A hero... _him_?" the shadow laughed.

Emma's mouth stood agape, "Wait I see him too, I see Neal. I... how is this possible?"

The Charmings looked very concerned, "Emma," her father said, "Who are you talking too?"

"It's Neal. I see him standing beside Gold." she replied, feeling an oddly undark urge to cry. Rumple glanced briefly at the shadow of his former self and then back to his son, "So you two can see each other?" he asked Baelfire's shadow. "Merlin didn't mention that."

"Where do you think the Darkness got the idea?" Shadow Bae crossed his arms, "Merlin was giving out visible consciences long before The Dark One came alone and corrupted the idea."

"Pity you can only use _the dead_ as your template." Shadow Rumple sniffed.

"He's your son!" said Emma turning to admonish her shadow.

"He's not _my_ son, dearie. I'm the Dark One. The Dark One has no son. And if he did he certainly wouldn't have let him DIE."

Merlin waved his hand and the dark shadow fell silent and grasped at its throat, "Enough." Merlin said, "I have heard enough from the Darkness to last a hundred lifetimes. You have consumed souls for centuries and while I... am partly to blame for that I will no longer stand by and allow you torment this innocent young woman." he indicated Emma, he turned to Rumple. "Remember my child; thy body remembers thy magic even if they dark power has been drained. Concentrate on love my child. Let they love for thy family and thy friends fuel thy magic anew!" Rumple looked at Belle and he looked at Bae; confidently he addressed Zelena... "Take my advice Zelena; Villains never win." Rumplestiltskin raised his arms and concentrated on Belle and Bae; as he did love flooded his heart and a blinding white light cascaded down the street dissolving Zelena's knife and her henchmen's guns at the speed of light and knocking Zelena to her knees. Finding himself free, Henry ran to his moms and Hook grinned crookedly at Isaac, "Better luck next time mate." he said, joining his friends on the other side.

Rumplestiltskin turned to Emma who felt a sudden wave of terror course through her body. She wanted desperately to run, but the light held her in an invisible grip. "Don't be afraid, Emma." Rumple said, "The Darkness knows it's time has come and it wants you to carry it away from the light." Emma started to cry. "Shhhh" Rumple soothed her. He placed his hands on her head and as Merlin had taught he pulled the plug out.

The Darkness poured out of Emma in ribbons, twisting and writhing as it tried to escape the light. Emma collapsed with a gasp as the last of The Darkness left her body. Rumple, Merlin and his Apprentice surrounded the writhing darkness and Rumple removed a familiar box from his coat and placed it on the pavement beneath the darkness. "Regina," he said, "Be a dear and hand over the dagger." Numbly Regina obeyed; as she passed the dagger to Rumple she gasped, "The name... where it should say Emma Swan... it's blank!"

"Aye, The Darkness has lost its tether" said Rumple, deftly opening the box with a wave of the dagger. Soft music filled the air as the sorcerer's hat unfurled itself under the darkness. Joining hands Rumple Merlin and The Apprentice forced the darkness into the hat which dulled from a deep blue covered with stars into a gloomy black as the stars in the hat went out one by one. Merlin waved his hand and the now pitch black hat folded itself back down into the box which closed with a snap. The light retreated back into Rumple who staggered a bit under the strange and unfamiliar weight of a light heart.

"Is it gone for good?" Snow asked, as she pulled her weeping daughter close.

"Perhaps." said Merlin, tucking the box into his own voluminous robes. "I shall return it to whence it came."

"I don't suppose you'd care to tell us where that is?" Belle asked.

"No my child, but be assured that The Darkness will never be allowed to trouble you or those you love again."

"I'll miss you." Belle said, knowing without being told that Merlin was going to leave. "And I you." he replied, hugging her tightly, if briefly.

"Wait." Rumple said, "Don't waste your fairy dust. I'll give you a bean. Several if you'd like." he rooted around in his pockets trying to find the little sack.

"Thank you my child, but my apprentice and I prefer to fly." Merlin smiled his ancient smile and tossed a handful of glittering dust into the air. He and his apprentice flew up waving a cheery goodbye to them as they disappeared into the starry night. Our assembled heroes waved them off. Forgetting momentarily at least that their problems weren't all solved just yet.

"I thought he'd never leave." Zelena said, knocking the entire crowd down with a wave of her arm. Thanks to his seasoned sea-legs Hook recovered first and dived at Zelena trying to knock her down. Laughing at the pirate's absurd attempt to take down a witch, Zelena stretched out her hand like a claw and Hook rose from the ground arms flailing wildly as Zelena slowly choked the life out of him.

Henry clutched at Rumple's arm, "You have to save him grandpa!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Suddenly Rumple wondered if being good was really worth it.

"Rumple..." Belle chided. "You have too, papa." Baelfire's shadow, which Merlin has evidently forgotten about, reminded him. Rumple turned to Belle, "This could get a bit awkward back home if I can't work out a way to put my son's memory back where it belongs."

"We'll deal with it, Rumple." she said, "That's what families do. Now stop stalling and save Killian. He's turning blue for heaven's sake."

"Fine." said Rumple, casually knocking Zelena over again with a burst of light magic.

Hook dropped to the ground coughing at the sudden rush of oxygen into his nearly empty lungs.

"What should we do with her?" Belle asked, her voice laced with compassion as she looked at Zelena.

"I have a few suggestions." Regina growled.

"We'll send her away." Rumple said, "Somewhere where she can change if she wants too, somewhere where there is no magic." He turned to Lily, "Go and fetch your mother and Zelena's daughter and if you so choose you can accompany them to the land without magic."

"Wait... NO!" said Regina, "I told you I won't allow her to raise Robin's child. It isn't right. She doesn't deserve a second chance."

Rumple looked at his son, "No she doesn't." Rumple sighed, "But Regina, how many second chances have YOU been given that you didn't deserve?"

Regina argued for hours, but in the end the majority sided with Rumple and Zelena with her child and Isaac who opted to accompany them, Lily choosing to stay in Storybrook with her mother, walked through the portal Rumple opened with one of his magic beans into a land without magic.


	12. Chapter Eleven - Epilogue

**Chapter Eleven - Epilogue**

Zelena held her daughter close, draping the blanket over her face to shield her from the dust which swirled in the wind as they walked down the dirt road the portal had deposited them on.

Gradually the wind died down and as the dust cleared Zelena spotted a sign just ahead.

"Welcome to Kansas" it read.

00O00

Back in Storybrook the new town council adjourns its meeting. The docket was light after the election and everyone on the council agreed that Granny made a great mayor. Regina hasn't taken losing well at first, but her appointment to the council seemed to mollify her and she was clearly enjoying having a small child in the house again. Henry had gladly given Roland most of his toys and had even help hang shelves in his new brother's room which adjoined his own.

Charming and Emma shared the sheriff's office, while Snow too had a seat on the town council. Emma had moved back in with her parents for the time being, having decided that returning to the mansion she'd built with dark magic was probably a bad idea. Henry wanted to build a house out in the country that was big enough for as he put it, 'everyone'. Regina, Emma and his grandparents were not enthusiastic.

After the meeting Belle pulled her husband aside and whispered, "Rumple there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh?" he asked, expecting some trifle about the shop of the library.

"You see, I've been seeing Doc a lot lately...you know since he took over the hospital."

"Please don't bring that up again." Regina groaned, remembering the most recent council vote she'd lost, "My new medical plan is to NEVER GET SICK!" she shivered at the idea of Doc being in charge of a real hospital.

"He's trying to learn, Regina." said Snow defending her vote to give Doc Whale's old job, "He's in the library every day reading medical journals."

"Reading... right. That's the way every surgeon learns his craft."

Belle pulled Rumple away from the rest of the council as much to avoid hearing the same arguments hashed out again as for privacy. "Go on." Rumple prompted, "Tell me about your visits to Doc."

"Well you see they weren't really visits." Belle said, "More like... appointments."

The color drained out of Rumple's face, "Belle, you're not ill?!"

Belle giggled, "No Rumple, I've never been better."

"Then why were you... Belle... you don't mean... are you pregnant?!" he exclaimed, his face broke into a blissful grin as Belle nodded her confirmation.

"Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick." said Regina, as she watched husband and wife engage in a make-out session that was starting to slide out of the PG range. "Hey!" she yelled, "Congratulations. I'm glad you enjoyed your 2nd honeymoon. Now will you please get a room?"

Rumple and Belle giggled like children as they walked past Regina and Snow and exited to, as Regina put it 'get a room'. As the door closed they heard Regina say to Snow, "Speaking of honeymoons, I should tell you about _mine_ someday." Regina shuddered at the memory. "Ewww." responded Snow, realizing that her friend was referring to her _only_ honeymoon, which had of course been with Snow's father.

"Why are we friends again?" she asked.

"Because I make the best apple turnovers in town?" Regina offered after a brief think.

"That's as good an explanation as any." Snow shrugged and the two of them shared a parting hug as they hurried home to their families.

00O00

Filled with joy Rumple carried Belle over the threshold of their home, his leg long since healed by light magic, which came with considerably fewer strings attached than dark magic. On their way to the bedroom the happy couple passed a small glass display cabinet which contained a chipped teacup and a blank dagger.

THE END


End file.
